Explaining isolation and an outbreak response — OSCE

A 6-year-old child admitted for elective surgery is on a bay where, over 36 hours, three patients and a nurse have developed explosive vomiting and diarrhoea. The bay has been closed. The child's parent is anxious: she cannot understand why she cannot stay with her child, why the staff keep washing with soap and water instead of the alcohol gel she usually sees, and what will happen to the child's sibling — an oncology patient with a central line admitted to the adjacent bay. The candidate must explain the outbreak, the containment measures, the rationale for soap-and-water hand washing and bleach cleaning, the protection of the vulnerable sibling, and the plan for standing the response down.