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Facebook is watching you even if you don’t have Facebook, claims study… Ebola survivor’s claims against hospital denied… New advice on workplace violence for healthcare workers…

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Facebook is watching you even if you don’t have Facebook, claims study
It’s claimed that Facebook tracks the internet usage of people who don’t have a Facebook account. The Guardian reports that the study; by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the University of Leuven’s Centre of Interdisciplinary Law and ICT; claims that the social network tracks every visitor to pages on its site even if they have opted-out of tracking, have logged out of Facebook, or do not even have an account. Tracking begins whenever someone visits a page or account on Facebook’s servers or uses ‘plug-ins’ such as those that allow websites to be ‘liked’ on the social network. The study was carried out in the EU and claims that Facebook’s tracking is illegal as it does not allow users to give consent. Read the full story.
 
Ebola survivor’s claims against hospital denied
A Dallas hospital had denied claims made in a lawsuit by one of its nurses who contracted Ebola while treating a patient. Nina Pham filed the suit last week stating that she became ill while treating Thomas Eric Duncan who was infected in Liberia and was the first US patient to die from the disease. The Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas denies claims poor training and health and safety procedures led to her illness and says it has the utmost respect for her. The hospital also says that court it not the appropriate route for the nurse’s grievances; as a workplace incident it should be handled as a worker’s compensation claim. Read the full story.
 
 
New advice on workplace violence for healthcare workers
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued new guidance to better protect those working in health and social care from workplace violence. The agency’s figures show that from 2011-2013 there were up to 25,630 annual incidents involving assaults in the workplace with up to three quarters being in the health and social care sector. Many of the attacks result in serious injuries and of the 100 fatalities that occurred in 2013 in the sector, 27 were due to violent acts according to the Bureau of Statistics. Perhaps unsurprisingly those working with gang members and drug abusers are at the highest risk of violence along with those who work alone and visit patients in their homes or transport them. OSHA said that there should be risk assessments conducted by employers to identify potential issues; written programs should be created to prevent or control the risks; and employees should be adequately trained in how to protect themselves. The law requires that employers provide health and safety guidelines to their employees. Read the full story.
 

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