Doctors still lack masks after delivery

PRIMARY CARE

OTTAWA • Even as planeloads of supplies to protect Canada’s medical workers arrive, many primary-care physicians say they are in the dark about when they’re going to get what they need to keep helping patients.

Global shortages of surgical masks and disposable N95 respirators have put Canadian medical workers under pressure to conserve what little they have left.

Despite those efforts, some say they are likely to run out.

“There are definitely some practices, if they haven’t already run out of (personal protective equipment) they will soon,” said Dr. Allan Grill, a family physician in Markham, Ont.

That could mean some clinics will be forced to stop seeing patients, Grill said, which would leave those patients with no choice but to report to emergency rooms or put off their care.

Federal and provincial governments say they’ve left no stone unturned in their efforts to get more of the supplies into Canada, and shipments have started to arrive. Even so, some doctors have no idea when they’ll actually get their hands on them or how they’ll be allocated.

ALL I’VE BEEN HEARING IS HOW DIFFICULT IT IS.

Supply stocks vary province to province, since each is responsible for its own. The federal government has been taking requests for large orders, for greater purchasing power abroad.

All provinces with the biggest outbreaks, including Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, have reported challenges this past month. But medical settings outside of hospitals, typically responsible for purchasing their own supplies, are struggling, said Dr. Sohail Gandhi, president of the Ontario Medical Association.

“All I’ve been hearing is how difficult it is,” he said.

The issue of N95 respirators is especially contentious. Federal and provincial guidelines suggest doctors only need to use them in certain situations, such as when a patient is on high-flow oxygen. Otherwise, the guidelines say surgical masks are enough to protect.

But nurses’ unions across the country have called for more liberal use of the N95 masks as an added precaution, and some doctors feel the same. While Gandhi’s heard about governmental efforts to get masks into Canada, he has no idea of where those supplies are or when they’re coming to clinics.

It can be especially upsetting when doctors go to the grocery store and spot people in medical-grade masks, he said.

The public have been urged to use non-medical masks if they choose to cover their face out in public, and consider donating medical supplies to hospitals and other health-care units.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand said the government has ordered just under 300 million surgical masks and 145 million N95 respirators. So far, about 17 million surgical masks have been delivered to Canada and two million N95 masks are expected this week.