Testing practices and staffing levels big concerns for SUN in northern Saskatchewan

Many nurses working in northern Saskatchewan are extremely concerned right now.

With a large COVID-19 outbreak declared in La Loche — and other outbreaks in hospitals in Lloydminster, Meadow Lake and Prince Albert – the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) says worker safety is paramount.

SUN president Tracy Zambory has been in touch with those on the frontlines and says what she’s hearing is that “things are difficult in a number of ways.” That includes having an adequate number of staff available for testing, contact tracing and patient care.

“People are being deployed from across the province to work there from the labour pool, and if they go to work there, they then have to — even if it’s just one shift — then they have to come out and self-isolate,” she explains. “This is the decision of the medical health officer there. They have to self-isolate for two weeks.”

Zambory says that is a person who not only has to be removed from the labour pool, but it also puts a strain on resources in the southern part of the province and sends a confusing message.

“We have people working with COVID-positive cases in ICUs in the province already and they don’t have to self-isolate after a shift,” Zambory said. “They continue to go back to work. So are you telling us that the PPE (personal protective equipment) that we’re wearing is not quite adequate? So we’re trying to untangle that.”

So far, she says, the union hasn’t been able to get a clear answer on that issue and it’s another new wrinkle to add to an already-confusing time.

Another huge area of concern remains COVID testing plans in northern Saskatchewan. Zambory doesn’t believe it makes much sense, and strains additional resources. However, the union is being asked to understand “the different nuances” in the north.

“The conversation was that they’re going to go from house to house (in La Loche) but they’re only going to test people who are showing symptoms, and we’re concerned about that,” said Zambory.

“Why would we do that? Why would we not test everyone that’s in the house rather than just people who show symptoms? Because four or five days from now we could have someone who is showing symptoms – but we’ve already been to that house.”

There may be some other ways of testing without putting so much strain on nurses and to get a better hold of the outbreak.

“We’re not as isolated in Saskatchewan as the conversation is trying to make us think. We’re really not,” she said. “People travel everywhere across this province and don’t think twice about it. COVID-19 doesn’t respect borders, it doesn’t respect stops, it doesn’t respect anything. It’s going to come through.”

She hopes — and the message she has for Premier Scott Moe and Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab — is that with the next reopening phase scheduled for May 19, if provincial officials see that things aren’t looking good, and the virus numbers rise, they will halt the plan.

“As registered nurses, we’re calling on the (Saskatchewan Health Authority) and the health ministry to be transparent and to be brave enough that if that does start to be the case … that we’re brave enough to … be actually willing to move ourselves backwards,” Zambory said.