00:01So staff here were provided a particular type of glove in the cancer ward that was used
00:08for preparing and administering chemotherapy.
00:11Earlier this year, a hospital worker started asking questions about the type of glove and
00:16whether it was protective against those hazardous chemicals.
00:20That prompted WorkSafe Victoria to tell the hospital in August that there were concerns
00:25about the gloves.
00:26The hospital conducted a review which confirmed that these particular gloves had not been
00:32tested as to whether or not they were protective against exposure to chemotherapy and other
00:38cytotoxic drugs when staff were wearing them.
00:41So they removed the gloves from the shelves and replaced them and launched an investigation.
00:47But the ABC can reveal that parts of the hospital have known about the issue with these gloves
00:53since 2016.
00:55That's when international standards around gloves and handling these kinds of hazardous
01:00drugs changed.
01:02And parts of the hospital replaced the gloves at the time, but not the cancer ward.
01:07This has come as distressing news to staff, some of whom are now concerned that they may
01:12have potentially been exposed to chemotherapy while they've been treating patients over the
01:17past 10 years.
01:18The hospital has launched an investigation, it's apologised to staff and it's hired an
01:24independent organisation to test the safety of these gloves and to investigate to confirm
01:31whether or not staff have been exposed to chemotherapy.
01:34And is there any potential, Antonia, for this happening at other hospitals?
01:40Well, since this issue has come to light, the Victorian Health Department has confirmed it's now
01:45working with other hospitals across the state and its procurement service to determine whether
01:50or not these gloves are in use in other hospitals, particularly around handling chemotherapy
01:55and other hazardous drugs, the Health Department is also considering whether it needs to put
02:00out more clinical advice to hospitals about these gloves.
02:04Thank you all.
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