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The following message was submitted to media by Linda Silas, CFNU and Janet Hazelton, NSNU
As the March 11th anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration of the COVID-19 global pandemic approached, nurses across Canada remain on high alert. Many are exhausted, burned out – and deeply concerned.
Nurses are on the frontlines of the pandemic and our health care system every day. We see its problems in brutal detail, and we have the experience to confront it. We have repeatedly called on decision makers to address critical staffing shortages and provide basic protections to keep workers safe.
When nurses and other healthcare workers are disregarded, the results can be devastating.
As of January 15, 65,920 health workers had been infected with the COVID-19 virus, representing 9.5 percent of all infections in Canada. More than 40 health workers are known to have died from the illness.
In our troubled long-term care system, insufficient staffing and safety protocols have contributed to a national tragedy. About 25,000 health care worker infections are in long-term care. More than 14,000 vulnerable residents have died from COVID-19, representing about 70 percent of all deaths in Canada.
It didn’t have to be this way.
As early as January of last year, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions began urging governments across Canada to heed the lessons of SARS and adopt a precautionary approach. This meant assuming the virus was airborne and protecting health workers – potential vectors of transmission – accordingly.
In Nova Scotia, healthcare unions, including the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union launched a campaign the first week in March 2020 titled Protect NS Frontline, a joint effort emphasizing the importance of listening to the expertise of more than 40,000 health care workers in our province.
The campaign advocated for better access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all frontline healthcare workers, urging government to trust the clinical judgement of healthcare professionals allowing them to determine what PPE is required to do their job safely.
Despite our best efforts, healthcare workers in many provinces have been put at unacceptable risk, with implications for their families, patients and communities.
Initially, N95 respirators were often locked away due to supply and procurement concerns, and as the debate over viral transmission evolved. With an ever-increasing number of studies showing airborne transmission, the science now supports our view that airborne transmission is a significant contributing factor in the spread of the disease, and it is essential to adhere to the precautionary principle in the fight against COVID-19.
It took the Public Health Agency of Canada until January 2021 to acknowledge that healthcare workers are at risk of airborne transmission when in close proximity to an infected person. Yet even given this admission, PHAC still does not require healthcare workers in COVID-19 units and ‘hot zones’ to wear protection from airborne transmission, such as N95 respirators.
Similarly, provinces across Canada have failed to update their guidance to adequately reflect what we now know about the virus and how its spreads.
Only Quebec has followed the scientific evidence to its natural conclusion: As of February 11, 2021, Quebec requires health care workers in COVID-19 hot zones to wear an N95 respirator or superior level of protection.
As new variants circulate in Canada, dramatically increasing the rate of transmission, healthcare workers are under even more pressure. Without action, health staffing, which is already in short supply, could become further depleted.
We must not let this happen. There is a desperate need for more staff, not less. Budgets cuts, fiscal restraints, short staffing, and higher workloads cannot be allowed to erode the healthcare workforce and quality of patient care. Investment in the retention and recruitment of nurses must be ongoing and meaningful to avoid an exodus from the profession as burnout takes its toll.
Governments across Canada must act now and show their respect and appreciation for healthcare workers by improving and enhancing job safety and safe staffing.
Acting on the recommendations of nurses and other frontline workers can lead to better outcomes for patients and workers alike where safety is paramount, and care is not compromised.
Linda Silas is a nurse and president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
Janet Hazleton is a registered nurse and president of the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union.
