|
Ontario Health Care Workers Defend Their Right to Safe Working Conditions Nurses Speak OutWith at least five COVID-19 related deaths and more than 3,000 Ontario health care workers infected, Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) President Vicki McKenna said "pandemic planning and infection principles weren't enacted quickly enough" in Ontario. McKenna said the ONA had warned the Ontario government in January that years of understaffing made long-term care homes vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the first case was identified in Ontario, unions, seniors' advocates and long-term care experts warned the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care of the risks. "They listened but there was no action," McKenna said. It wasn't until there were positive cases starting to percolate in long-term care, that the light went on ... and the focus turned to long-term care, she added.
ONA is also speaking out against the government policy of re-using masks and providing inappropriate masks. Ontario Health has advised employers to collect used N95 and surgical masks and to store these in biohazard bags for potential reprocessing. ONA advises any health care worker, who is placing an N95 into a container for potential reuse, to be careful not to contaminate themselves. Furthermore ONA says there is no conclusive scientific evidence that supports reusing N95 masks. "We have advised government that, until there is clear evidence and science on safety, ONA will not consider these options without clear scientific evidence that these masks meet the standards for safe use in health-care settings." Reusable cotton fabric masks are also being offered to nurses and health care professionals. Again ONA is advising that the effectiveness of cotton masks is not proven and may put the user at risk. "Our best advice is to respectfully decline the offer of these cotton face masks. We strongly advise you to continue to use only approved personal protective equipment." Refusal by government authorities to take appropriate measures to protect the health of front line workers has forced ONA to take legal action. The union, for example, filed an injunction as a "last resort" against four nursing homes where more than 70 residents have died. The homes named include three owned by Rykka Care Centres Group -- Eatonville Care Centre in Toronto, Anson Place Centre in Hagersville and Hawthorne Place Care Centre in North York. A separate application was filed against Henley Place, operated by Primacare Living Solutions, located in London.
Long-term care homes must now follow the Chief Medical Officer of Health's directives, the ONA collective agreement, and Occupational Health & Safety laws regarding nurses' access to PPE, communication, testing, cleaning, staffing, cohorting of residents and self-isolation. ONA President Vicki McKenna said, "Long-term care nurses and health-care professionals have been trying desperately to stem the spread of COVID-19, and this decision obliges employers to work co-operatively with ONA to achieve that goal."
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
While
governments claim they did not have a "playbook" for dealing with
outbreaks in nursing homes, McKenna says in fact there were several,
with "federal and provincial pandemic plans, post-SARS reports and
infection prevention and control guidelines -- all painstakingly
developed in preparation for the inevitable next pandemic."
Ontario
Superior Court Justice Edward Morgan ruled in favour of the ONA case,
ordering the four Ontario long-term care homes to allow nurses to use
their "professional judgment" to determine necessary PPE. He rejected the
legal arguments of the nursing home chain that the nurses and other
medical staff treating COVID-19 patients in
LTC homes were representing "their own narrow, personal interests"
while the privately-owned LTC homes represent broad, "community-based
interests." 