Saskatchewan unions representing registered nurses and other health care workers say the province should “take a step back” in order to manage a rising wave of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Saskatchewan Union of Nurses president Tracy Zambory said the number of new cases has reached a point where some health services that have been resumed since March should consider limiting services to preserve capacity.
“Why wait until we’re in it so deep that we’re in huge trouble? All the signs are there that we talked about back in April or the beginning of May.”
Saskatchewan has recorded 804 new cases in the last week, shattering previous records.
As of Wednesday, 44 people were in hospital, 11 receiving intensive care — record numbers.
SEIU-West President Barbara Cape said that affects all staff, including members working in long-term care, diagnostic testing and as care aides.
“These last 10 days or so, we’ve just seen an incredible spike that just doesn’t lend itself to being able to manage a pandemic and provide the same level of services,” she said.
Starting last Friday, chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab adapted the province’s public health order to mandate use of cloth masks in indoor spaces in Regina, Prince Albert and Saskatoon. Maximum private gathering sizes were also restricted to 10 from 15.
Cape and Zambory said the mask mandate should extended to the entire province.
They also think it’s time to potentially postpone elective or diagnostic health services in case another wave of hospitalizations hits.
While urgent health services like emergency rooms never ceased operation, the Saskatchewan Health Authority postponed elective and diagnostic services as of March 23 and gradually reintroduced many of them over the following months.
That services resumption plan came with thresholds that might “slow down” the process. They include redeployment of staff, community transmissions of COVID-19 and an increase of COVID-19 patients in hospital.
Zambory pointed to a recent outbreak at a long-term care home in Indian Head as an example. It forced short-staffed homes to pool staff as some workers had to self-isolate.
COVID-19 hospitalizations also prompted Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon to relocate its ICU to the former pediatric unit for more space. Zambory said even that unit is becoming overcrowded.
“We have a health human resources crisis in front of us here,” she said, adding that she does not take reducing access to health services lightly but wants to meet with the Ministry of Health and SHA to discuss the option.
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Cape said the pressure is also being felt in diagnostic testing. While the SHA has pledged to hire more than 70 new staff to ramp up testing capacity in provincial laboratories, not all those positions have been filled.
“People are reaching their breaking point. We have folks who are working double shifts on a regular basis. I had one member who said she was working 20 days in a row without a day off,” Cape said.
“Do I think we need to shut down like Manitoba just did? I don’t know. But I think we need to get a lot more serious in a big damn hurry.”
Source: https://thestarphoenix.com/news/saskatchewan/nurses-union-calls-for-step-back-as-covid-19-numbers-climb?fbclid=IwAR3KBseJTF_1oTpAK0_bOF5wbX6jGAsG03WQqt4K_GfqrGWyaFg0wiAqHNs
