Clean Queens was called to cleanup after a break in at a suburban chemist over the weekend. This chemist had been broken into twice in the space of a few days.

On his second attempt, the offender sustained a cut to his hand after shattering the glass door, leaving plenty of DNA evidence (blood) behind. Thankfully NSW Police now have him in custody.

There were blood splatters and droplets covering the door, carpets, the cash register, counter and several shelves.  Despite this, the pharmacy owner was completly ignorant of the public health risk this break-in posed to her, the staff and the general public.  This was a clear OH& S issue which could have been solved efficiently.

Yes, I say ‘could have’. 

Secure in her ignorance, this pharmacy owner did not want to pay for the services of Clean Queens. A brand new back-to-base alarm system was installed the day of the 2nd break-in, so cost was not the issue. Forensic cleaning costs are claimable through insurance of victims of crime – unlike the costs for the ’back to base alarm system’.

Not only could we have removed the risk for of cross-infection from blood borne viruses but we could have also removed the resistant finger print dust and Luminol used by police in their job of establishing evidence for a conviction.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia in conjunction with Guild Group Holdings state on their website:

“Infection from body substances, mainly blood, is a potential risk where a pharmacy offers services such as piercing, blood glucose and cholesterol testing.”

After seeing the amount of blood spatter throughout the shop, across areas of public access as well as where pharmacy medications were stored,  I am shocked and concerned about this pharmacy, which obviously places no priority on the health and safety of the general public and the staff.

We are in the middle of a Federal election campaign and all parties come forward with every dirty little secret.

A cameraman who used a toilet, found an overflowing sharps container with used needles. OK, this is an OH&S issue.

We all visit or use hospitals. Some of us work there and there are occasions in our lives when we have to be in one.

Hospitals are rife with sharps hazards, viruses and bacteria. Either emergency staff were too busy to deal with the bin and the contract cleaners clearly didn’t get to that area.

In hospitals where maintenance of clinical waste and sharps containers are not tended to and areas are not cleaned properly, the staff, patients and the general public are all put at risk of exposure.

There are a lot of important issues there with the election ahead and our health care.

It has been another week of viewing properties where people with mental health issues, the disabled and elderly live.

Only one was a NSW Department of Housing property. Let’s call her ‘Doris’.

Doris has a mental health worker visit her regularly and she also gets assistance with shopping 5 times a week. I assumed the property would be maintained to a reasonable standard.
How wrong I was.

After a lengthy chat with Doris to help her feel at ease with me, I can look around to see what we need to do. I have a check list in my head and carefully look at Doris’ space.

• Plumbing,
• fridge,
• cooking,
• food,
• smoke detector,
• bedding, and
• showering.

Doris’ case worker is with me and we go over all the hazards in this Department of Housing unit.

• The oven didn’t work,
• the toilet didn’t flush,
• the carpet joins were torn and were trip hazards for Doris.

This situation is not all about cleaning. I stood in the shower, and I don’t get this bit…

The floor was dusty. The cake of soap was like a brick. Something was missing here. I just don’t get it.

We assume we can can do ‘normal life’ every day. You and I have access to a functioning living space. Why not Doris? The toilet didn’t flush and the shower floor was dusty – but she gets shopping help 5 times a week.

I leave Doris’ home with an offer for Clean Queens to give her living environment a make-over. I can see it will be an easy clean.

Doris needs more than a visit 5 times a week and some help with shopping .

Clean Queens had our first home birth!

I was at a clients’ home dealing with another issue completely, when suddenly baby Hugo decided it was time to make his presence felt!
Surprised?

So was new mum Anna, when baby Hugo was born on her best single seater lounge chair.

Anna had no idea she was pregnant! She had been traveling and yes, she had put on some weight but not enough to suggest pregnancy. It happens more often than we realise (1 in 2,455 births) and then out of the blue two lives change with very little fanfare.

I’m so used to dealing with the other end of the life spectrum – this was definitely one for the books!

We wish Anna and Hugo all the best for their new lives.

• An Accidental Mother: I didn’t know I was pregnant
• Surprise births not uncommon – BBC UK News

This week I had a late night call to an unattended death in a unit block of 10 in the Sutherland Shire. An 82 year old man had passed away in the bathroom around a month ago. He had hit his head on a hard tiled floor, there was a large amount of blood over the floor because the floor drain was covered over. 

It turns out, this elderly man has lived alone for years after his wife passed away. He kept to himself. NSW Police could locate no next of kin at all in Australia. As of writing this, police have moved their search for a next of kin to the UK. 

In the United States, after 9/11 and then Hurricane Katrina , the American Government set up The American Next of Kin Registry.  Based on the effects of these devastating events, that Holroyd Local Area Command, NSW developed their own database – the New South Wales Next of Kin Register (according to the NSW Parliament Hansard, March 2010).

This database can assist emergency services to help to locate a relative or other nominated person.  While it is a free  service and you do need to register in person at Merrylands Police Station.

After the ‘perfect storm of misery’ – depression, substance abuse and mental health – has hit, the services of Clean Queens is often required.

The other day I was engaged by Josh, a young man in his 30’s.  18 months ago, Josh had taken in a young 20-something year old Aaron as a new flatemate.  Aaron was a fresh-faced boy from the country who had moved to Sydney.  Josh took him under his wing, as a flat mate, friend and buddy.

As the friendship grew, Josh realised Aaron suffered depression and he supported him as much as he could.

Sadly, last week their 18 month bond ended unexpectantly.

One ordinary weeknight after a normal coversation – the next morning Josh feared the unthinkable had happened. Local police kicked down the bedroom door to get to Aaron where grim reality revealed ‘the black dog’ of depression had bit overnight.

Aaron had committed suicide in his bedroom.

Suicide by 25-34 and 35-44 year olds made up 47% of total suicide deaths in 2001. The majority of these deaths were male.

If you’re depressed, please get help. Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide callback service on 1300 659 467 are both there 24 hours 7 days a week.

In the meantime, tell someone if you’re feeling depressed. Find someone to talk to if you’ve got thoughts of suicide. I would love nothing more than to see this the dark visitor of depression and suicide to disappear completely from all of our lives.

Lifeline
Suicide call back service
MensLine Australia
Beyond Blue

Don’t delay.
Get help today.

Clean Queens has been able to families from any corner in the world.

This week I met with ‘Greg’ who flew in from the UK. His brother Ian passed away at home not noticed for several weeks and has been at the Coroners Court Mortuary for nearly two months.

Ian was a retired man, living alone and kept very much to himself. His life had been devoted to serving his country and helping other people. As a young man he had served in the Navy in the UK. After immigrating to Australia he joined the NSW Fire Brigade and put his life on the line every shift to help others.

Ian was also a diabetic and had to keep constant watch on his health. His diet and exercise was a strong part of his daily routine.

Sadly, Ian ended up one of the many ‘unattended deaths’ in NSW.  Clean Queens has been privileged to restore order to Ian’s last environment and we were also able to help Greg locate Ian’s dentist in order to identify him at the Coroners Court.

All arrangements have been made now for Ian’s funeral and I hope he has a great send off from family and work colleagues.

When I saw this piece online I was horrified and felt physically ill.

The story is about Barton, a garbage collector, who unfortunately had to manually empty the wheelie bins from a medical clinic.

In the process:

“an improperly secured bin spilled up to two litres of medical waste – including blood, human biopsies and chemotherapy chemicals – over Mr Wallis as he tried to lift it onto the truck.”

Horrifying!

Worse still – Barton swallowed some of the waste.

What a horrible horrible situation to find yourself in. This poor man.

This is the stuff of nightmares.

As someone working every day in this industry and fully aware of the dangers biohazards pose, I am horrified this incident could have occured.  I’m not surprised at all Barton is reporting “depression, anxiety and mood swings.” I can’t imagine the horrors and fears that would be charging through his mind.

No matter what the role – especially emptying clinical waste – employers must provide basic safe working conditions.

Remember the collision between a Sydney ferry and a pleasure cruiser on Sydney Harbour back on 28 March 2007?

There were 12 people on the cruiser, from the Australian and international skating fraternity and their families. Four were killed.

There were horrific injuries and more ugly dismembered damage than you could ever imagine.

Senior constable Roger Gough from NSW Police Rescue – just doing his job – helped remove bodies from the water.  You may not have stopped to think just what this actually means.

You might not be able to imagine the dreadful carnage that night in the water which washed over everyone and everything.

Roger says: “We got covered in stuff … moving bodies with blood and guts.”

If one horrific tragedy wasn’t enough, as a result of his actions, Roger was paralysed for 9 months after the incident. He’s undergone months of rehabilitation to get back to the Police force.

So, how did this happen?
When there are body fluids in contact with live human beings, the risk of serious infection skyrockets.  Incidents like this highlight this very serious risk.

Whether it’s Sydney Harbour at night, a holding cell at your local Police Station, swinging drunks in the back of a paddy wagon, or a syringe discarded at the beach – body fluids are dangerous.

Our best wishes to Roger with his appeal and full return to health.

Duty of care comes in all shapes and sizes. The other day, I attended a NSW Police Local Area Command to clean up wet blood in the back of a police truck.

The story was: two Constables had attended a call-out about a stray dog. The big tan Labrador had bailed up some guy and by all reports, the man was completely terrified.

However, when the police arrived, they could see the friendly giant meant no harm. Wagging his tail and bouncing around the bloke, the animal clearly was no threat at all.

Plan A:
So they decided to take the overgrown pup back to the station in the caged section in rear of their truck. Opening the hatch, they spotted wet blood inside from a previous shift.

Rather than putting the happy pooch in the caged area along with the wet blood, they quickly went to plan B.

Plan B:
To avoid transferring the blood from the cage to a greater number of surfaces and a potential risk of exposure to RSPCA staff, these boys in blue simply popped the friendly dog on the back seat and off they went.

Now that’s what I call a duty of care!