National Post (National Edition)
Nurse pleads in video: ‘We are in dire need of supplies’
Nurses refuse work without N95 masks
Dozens of nurses across Canada have invoked labour laws to demand the right to wear N95 masks while treating certain COVID-19 patients, their national union head says, as health-care workers gird themselves for a wave of new coronavirus cases.
Nurses in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta have cited occupational health and safety legislation that allows employees to refuse work they believe is unsafe, after hospitals barred them from donning the higher-level masks, said Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
There have been “under 50” such refusals, among a group of health professionals “that never does it,” she said.
Doctors and nurses across the country have reported a shortage of N95 respirators, with many facilities now keeping them under lock and key.
None of the protesting nurses walked off the job, but most ended up being redeployed, said Silas. “We’ve had ridiculous examples of employers saying they’ll discipline them, charge them.”
“And as (their) union I say ‘Go right ahead, you’ll lose,’ ” Silas said. “They’re looking for those vulnerable workers who are in the health-care world because they want to help, they want to save lives and they often forget about their own safety.”
In response to the issue, at least two provinces — Alberta and Ontario — have now struck agreements with unions representing nurses and other health-care workers, giving them more say over when they can upgrade from a simple surgical mask to an N95 or other protective equipment.
Under the Alberta joint statement, similar to the Ontario accord, workers will perform a “point of care risk assessment” before every patient interaction.
If the worker decides “on reasonable grounds” that certain personal protective equipment is needed, the request cannot be “unreasonably denied” by their employer, or they are to be deployed to another area, the statement says.
The agreements set out guidelines for when certain types of protection are to be used.
All health-care workers, for instance, should wear N95 masks or the equivalent in a room where aerosol-generating medical procedures are being carried out or are likely to happen, or where a patient has been intubated — had a breathing tube inserted in their throat, says the Alberta statement.
“If they believe they need a higher level of PPE, they will get that,” said Silas about the agreements. “There won’t be any more PPEs locked down.”
The agreements also make reference to the need for “conservation and stewardship” of personal protective equipment (PPE), preserving supplies for when they are truly required to provide care.
Doctors throughout the country are also worried about an apparent shortage of personal protective equipment, said Dr. Sandy Buchman, president of the Canadian Medical Association. They are willing to put themselves in harm’s way, but society must respond by giving them the required protection, just as a soldier or firefighter would not be expected to work without the right gear, he said.
“We put our patients first, we will step up,” he said. “But we cannot blame any professional who says ‘I do not have adequate PPE. I could get sick, I could die. And you can’t expect me to go into battle without adequate equipment?’ ”