This Health Hazard Alert for OPSEU members is provided to supplement information from Public Health, Ministry of Health, and Health Canada, and explains your rights under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.
New Directive to All Ontario Acute Care Hospitals
The latest directive from the Commissioners of Public Safety and Security, and Public Health has scaled down the requirement for hospital employees to wear N95 masks as part of their protective equipment. This directive was issued April 1, although OPSEU was not aware of it until April 2.
Previously there was a requirement for all staff in any part of a hospital in the GTA/Simcoe County to wear N95 masks, whether or not they were delivering patient care. The new directive gives the following direction:
All Health Care Workers (HCWs) and staff entering the room of a SARS patient in any location:
· Use frequent hand washing/hand hygiene
· Use an N95 mask
· Use an isolation gown
· Use gloves
· Use protective eyewear or face shield
For direct contact with any patient in Intensive/Critical Care Units or Emergency Departments HCWs must:
· Use frequent hand washing/hand hygiene
· Use an N95 mask
· Use an isolation gown
· Use gloves
· Use protective eyewear or face shield
The directive does not define “direct contact.” It is unclear whether other staff who work in the ICU/CCU but who do not touch patients are to wear masks or not. It is not clear whether workers who do deliver patient care are supposed to keep their masks on when in the unit but not delivering care. It is not clear whether masks are to be worn when triaging
patients, or screening staff/visitors outside the hospital.
The directive gives no explanation for the downgrading of the requirement to wear respiratory protection. OPSEU is concerned that these changes have been made as a result of the current shortage of N95 masks, not because new evidence has been presented to the Commissioners and their advisors that indicates masks are no longer necessary. OPSEU is seeking an
explanation of this decision.
OPSEU advises health care workers to continue to request personal protective equipment (PPE) that they believe is necessary to protect their health and safety in all areas where they work. Request an emergency meeting of your Joint Health and Safety Committee to discuss the changed directive and how it is to be interpreted and implemented in your workplace.
There is still not a definitive answer to the question of how the virus is transmitted. Most experts believe that SARS is spread by contact with the virus which has landed on a surface after a sick person sneezes or coughs or by inhalation of droplets when a sick person coughs or sneezes. However, there are still some who believe the virus may be airborne or
transmitted by other means such as sewage. OPSEU’s position is always to err on the side of caution – if you believe that your health and safety is at risk because you are not being supplied with appropriate PPE, request it from your supervisor.
How are the health and safety concerns of other OPSEU members outside the hospital sector being dealt with?
Unfortunately, other than Corrections (Ministry of Public Safety and Security), none of the other OPS ministries have taken proactive steps to protect their employees. In Corrections, guidance and protocols have been developed jointly between the employer and the union in every region of the province. The protocols have been distributed, communicated and
implemented.
SARS particularly concerns OPSEU members who deal directly with the public delivering a variety of services. Consequently members have exercised their Right to Refuse under the Occupational Health and Safety Act in a number of workplaces such as Driver Examination Centres where they are required to sit in close proximity to members of the public in an enclosed
space (a vehicle) during a road test. In each of these cases, the Ministry of Labour has ruled against workers, saying that there is no real threat to workers’ health and safety during a road test. OPSEU, through the provincial health and safety committee of the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), is pursuing this issue vigorously and has requested that the Ministry put
new protective protocols in place during the course of the SARS outbreak. Currently there are negotiations underway between OPSEU, MTO and Management Board on these measures.
In other ministries where no protocols have been put in place, Joint Health and Safety Committees (JHSCs) have negotiated some measures such as providing waterless handwash gel for workers at counter workstations. In some workplaces, workers have decided to provide their own PPE such as gloves and masks.
OPSEU continues to advise members to request Emergency JHSC meetings to discuss issues related to the prevention of SARS and protocols that should be put in place in your workplaces. If you have concerns that your health and safety are at risk in the workplace you still have the right to refuse unsafe work under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
For more information, contact OPSEU’s Health and Safety Unit: 1-800-268-7376, 416-443-8888, extension 772. Check the OPSEU website at www.opseu.org for future updates.
Useful Links:
Health Canada for updates and Guidelines: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/sars-sras
Toronto Public Health updates: www.toronto.ca/health
Centres for Disease Control: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/
World Health Organization for daily updates and guidelines: www.who.int/csr/sars/
Ministry of Health: www.health.gov.on.ca
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