The BC Nurses’ Union says it is seriously concerned provincial health employers may be failing to effectively protect health-care workers from COVID-19 transmission and infection.
In a statement issued on Monday, May 4, the BC Nurses’ Union (BCNU) stated there is concern provincial health employers are resorting to questionable safety measures such as the use of re-processed and expired personal protective equipment (PPE). Since March 20, the BCNU has received more than 1,700 complaints from nurses across the province who are increasingly concerned health employers are unable to provide them with PPE, such as gowns, gloves, face shields and N95 respirator masks, that is critical to protecting them and their patients as the coronavirus pandemic continues. BCNU president Christine Sorensen says she is troubled by reports of employers asking nurses to risk their safety and take questionable measures to preserve PPE.
“Nurses are getting only one mask per shift. Others have been told to leave their used mask on a piece of paper towel when they go on a break,” she said.
Sorensen said these first-hand accounts have led BCNU to question what state the pandemic response measures or other disease transmission controls were in before this public health crisis began, and how health employers plan on navigating the challenges that will continue to arise as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on.
“Respirators, masks and other PPE are meant to be the last line of defense for care providers, after all other control measures are in place,” explains Sorensen. “The fact that some hospital emergency rooms still have triage desks without Plexi-glass barriers, like the ones now present in grocery stores and food processing plants, is quite simply beyond me.”
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