Some B.C. nurses still lack access to N95 respirators, union president says
With thousands of health-care workers calling in sick in B.C. each day as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to spread through the province, the head of the BC Nurses Union says a lack of access to personal protective equipment is contributing to the problem.
BCNU president Aman Grewal told CTV News on Saturday that she continues to hear from nurses around the province - particularly those working in long-term care and in the community - that they are unable to access N95 respirators.
This, despite the fact that such high-filtration face masks are increasingly being recommended to the general public during the Omicron wave.
"They need to do a point of care risk assessment to determine whether they need an N95 mask," Grewal said. "That should be an automatic that if the nurse feels that she or he needs that to protect themselves, that they have access to it, they don't need to go ask for it, that it's available for them."
"The way we used to do it before this pandemic, a nurse determined whether they needed that N95 mask and they were able to use that without having to ask for permission," she added.
Grewal said she didn't know a specific number or percentage of nurses struggling to access N95 masks in B.C.
She's not the only medical professional to have complained about a lack of such masks in medical settings, however.
Late last month, health-care providers who wanted to volunteer to administer booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine in public clinics were told they could not bring their own N95 masks with them. Instead, they were instructed to use the PPE provided at the clinic, which did not include N95s.
The number of B.C. health-care workers calling in sick has declined since earlier in the month, but it's still well above the historical average, according to Health Minister Adrian Dix.
At a news conference Friday, Dix said 7,952 health-care workers called in sick from Jan. 17 to 19. That was down from 11,010 during the same period the previous week, from Jan. 10 to 12.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.