- National
- ACT
This was published 6 years ago
Canberra nail salons on notice from ACT Health for hygiene, vermin
By Emily Baker
Canberra nail salons have been caught by health authorities using blood-stained equipment, leaving skin shavings on the ground and reusing blades.
Two cockroach-infested salons were urged to call in pest control, several were reprimanded for reusing wax pots or spatulas and dozens more were told how to clean and sterilise equipment, including reminders that sink plugs must be used to ensure dirty equipment was actually immersed in water.
Canberra nail salons have tripped up on a number of health regulations.
Inspection reports, improvement notices and complaints from Canberra's 39 nail salons reveal widespread issues of poor hygiene and the potential for the spread of infection across customers.
One Woden nail salon was slapped with three of the seven improvement notices handed out by ACT Health since 2015. Two have been cancelled and one was given in July after a customer complained of being cut five times while getting her acrylic nails refilled.
"She claims the staff member kept going with the drill, even though she was bleeding and asked them to stop," the complaint form said.
"She expressed concern about blood being on the burr and not being cleaned properly."
A subsequent unannounced inspection from a Health Protection Service worker found "several issues".
"Disposable burrs [from drills] must be single use and disposed of after each customer," the improvement notice said.
"Wax cartridge must be disposed of immediately after each customer even if there is wax remaining ... the cartridge must not be used on another customer as the wax becomes contaminated during use."
Another complaint at the same salon detailed "filthy counters, floors and areas", with ACT Health agreeing the business needed to hire a pest controller to deal with cockroaches.
One Belconnen salon received an improvement notice in 2016 for leaving skin shavings on the floor overnight. An inspection report warned the owners that doing so would "encourage rodents and cockroaches into the salon".
Nail salons in Civic, Erindale and Fyshwick were told they would comply with infection control guidelines once they started disposing of used blades in an approved sharps container.
"BLADES MUST NEVER BE CLEANED AND RE-USED," one 2015 infection control inspection notice said in bold.
The ACT Health documents, published under a Freedom of Information request, reveal 14 complaints have been investigated by ACT Health since 2015.
A Civic nail salon was hit with a since-cancelled improvement notice after a customer complained the business had "no knowledge of its health responsibilities".
Several were asked to stop cutting cuticles or grating feet with unsterilised equipment.
All nail salons are inspected two to three times a year.
University of Canberra nursing academic Eamon Merrick encouraged customers to look at a salon's general cleanliness before sitting down for a treatment.
"You're looking for the clean sterilisation of reusable equipment, you might want to ask the beauty practitioner about what they do to ensure they're not cross-contaminating between clients," he said.
"That might be using different wax pots, it might be ensuring that any material that comes into contact with a person has been appropriately disposed of."
Hepatitis ACT executive officer John Didlick said there was a risk that blood borne viruses could be transmitted in nail salons but said it was "down the skinny end of incidents", urging a stronger public health focus on initiatives like a prison syringe program.
"I've certainly never seen any data quantifying the risk from nail salons - I couldn't even tell you whether there is one single case in the ACT for example where somebody has contracted hepatitis C from a nail salon," Mr Didlick said.
"That's not to say that prevention doesn't matter because prevention does matter."
Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris encouraged Canberrans with concerns to make a complaint: "All complaints concerning hygiene standards at a business premises are taken seriously and investigated by our public health officers."
Earlier this year, Fairfax Media reported there had been a 13-fold increase in Canberra nail salons in almost as many years. Migrant women networks expressed concerns about working conditions of some employees and beauty experts shared worries about some salons' practices.