N.L. rotational worker denied direct care
Eastern Health says it isn't protocol to turn anyone away from an emergency department
“I don’t even understand why they wouldn’t make a phone appointment with me. In my mind, 811 is just for COVID.” Cindy Martin
ST. JOHN'S — Navigating the health-care system during a pandemic can be a daunting prospect for anyone who feels they need prompt but not urgent care, and it can be more scary for a rotational worker who already feels stigmatized as someone who may be bringing COVID-19 into the province.
Take Cindy Martin. Martin, a rotational worker from Hickman’s Harbour, N.L., was home grappling with a chest cold in November that seemed to be getting worse. She called her doctor, but for some reason was not offered a virtual appointment. Instead, she was told to call 811.
For a rotation worker, 811 means one thing: COVID-19 testing.
“I don’t even understand why they wouldn’t make a phone appointment with me,” Martin said by phone this week from her Random Island home.
“In my mind, 811 is just for COVID.”
At that time, anyone travelling back and forth to work in Canada could call for a test after seven days back home, and leave self-quarantine if the result was negative.
Martin admits she was confused. Having been home for 30 days, she had already done that.
“I did my one-week isolation, I had my COVID test and everything came back clear,” she said.
With symptoms worsening, and not sure what else to do, Martin went to the emergency department at G.B. Cross Hospital in Clarenville.
She faced routine security screening at the door, and, among other questions, they asked whether she was a rotational worker. She said yes, but that she’d been home for weeks.
“They put me right inside a room that was next to security with four chairs in the corner,” she said.
A nurse was called in to talk to her.
“Why are you here?” the nurse finally said to her. “You’re not supposed to be here, you’re supposed to call 811.”
The nurse said that to protect hospital workers and patients, no one with symptoms was allowed into the hospital.
Martin finally made the 811 call while sitting there, and was given a prescription for antibiotics by a nurse practitioner.
“I took the antibiotics and went back to work on the ship where I work, and I was feeling tired ever since.”
Martin said she never quite felt herself and battled fatigue over the next couple of months. Then, about 10 days ago, her condition deteriorated.
By then, her ship was moored in Montreal, and she faced a dilemma. She couldn’t very well fly home in her state, and was half afraid she’d run into barriers again anyway. But workers aren’t supposed to leave the ship while in port.
Eventually, she was left with no choice.
“My only option here now is to try to go to the hospital in Montreal, which I did."
It was a good thing she did seek help.
Her blood pressure was low, 60⁄40, and her body was in shock. She had pneumonia in one lung.
NOT PROTOCOL
She’s now home in quarantine with her boyfriend, but is still very weak and short of breath.
Martin says she doesn’t blame the local health-care workers she encountered, and was told the protocols would have been the same for anyone. But she says being denied direct care should not be the norm.
A statement from Eastern Health Thursday confirms it actually isn’t.
The authority said there is a process in place when staff are anticipating someone may have COVID-19, but turning them away is not part of it.
“Efforts will be made for any patients in the emergency department who fail the COVID-19 screening assessment to be placed in a private room away from the general waiting room for triage and appropriate care,” the authority said. “Staff will wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow protocols when interacting with the individual in order to keep themselves and other patients safe. The same process would apply for rotational workers.”
Martin had made it clear up front she’d been home for 30 days and had already tested negative for the coronavirus.
“It is not Eastern Health’s policy to turn away a patient from an emergency department; but we are looking into the concerns raised,” the authority said.
She said the Montreal team was surprised at the ordeal she went through.
“They couldn’t believe the doctors in Newfoundland weren’t giving us care,” she said.