Get toys and magazines out of the ED

A recent article in the Gazette of Ottawa, Canada and Canada.Com suggests getting objects out of emergency department waiting rooms may slow the spread of Swine Flu or H1N1. The article also notes the need for divided and separated waiting rooms in clinics and emergency departments.

I think this is a good idea and another example of non-pharmacological intervention that may reduce person to person infection. The idea is to keep people with flu symptoms greater than six feet from others...that would be two meters in Canada. Some indicate there should be fully separate waiting rooms for patients with cold/flu symptoms. The problem I see is that once symptom segregation is accomplished - and recognized by the patients - people may not report, or falsely report symptoms in order to "not sit with the flu people". It may be equally beneficial to have someone at the door handout masks and hand sanitizer to everyone.

Considering that the flu virus can survive on inanimate objects for some time, it is reasonable to remove items like magazines and toys - that would otherwise take you mind off the hours you have to wait - to prevent infection. Replacing those items with TV may be a good idea, too. Some level of decontamination for the hospital or clinic waiting room is a good idea. That is, decontamination that goes beyond mopping up the fluid releases from time to time.

I'd also recommend that health care employees not enter the waiting room when reporting to work and that patients in the waiting room are not allowed to wander other parts of the hospital (cafeteria) until they've been seen.