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
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.