In order to avoid offloading more services, health workers suffering from COVID-19 – but asymptomatic – will be able to work “under certain conditions”, announced Tuesday Christian Dubé, Minister of Health and Social Services. A measure that made some unions jump.
Health workers declared positive and asymptomatic will be able to work according to “a list of priorities, but also a risk management”, indicated Mr. Dubé. “It will be on a case-by-case basis, depending on each of the situations specific to each region,” he said.
The isolation period for these infected workers will be reduced. It will take into account the type of exposure, the results of laboratory analysis as well as the vaccination status of the worker, it said in a press release. The date of entry into force of this measure remains unknown.
This new measure will extend to all essential workers, so that the company “continues to operate in a safe manner,” Dubé said. Information to this effect will be unveiled in the coming days.
“We are caught in a vice where hospitalizations are increasing, while more and more caregivers have to be absent [en raison de la COVID-19] “, Illustrated the Minister of Health.
[Lundi], around 7,000 workers were absent and, in the next few days, it will be 10,000 workers.
Christian Dubé, Minister of Health and Social Services
As a large proportion of health workers are doubly vaccinated, this new measure “is a calculated risk”, according to Christian Dubé. The decision was not made by choice, but it is necessary to avoid going to the “last level of load shedding, which involves doing only critical care,” he says. The fact of offloading more would cause “permanent damage” to Quebecers who need care, he stressed.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
The Dr Horacio Arruda, National Director of Public Health
There are other diseases besides COVID-19, recalled the Dr Horacio Arruda, National Director of Public Health. “If I was in intensive care and needed a cardiologist, I would prefer a cardiologist infected with COVID-19 who is not very symptomatic, he illustrated. He will take care of my heart, because my risk of heart dying is greater. ”
The network is “not ready”
Minister Dubé’s announcement is “irresponsible and unacceptable,” according to Julie Bouchard, president of the Quebec Interprofessional Health Federation. “Bringing back care professionals who are positive in the network, in the work environment” will undoubtedly lead to outbreaks in the care services, she said, in an interview with Press.
The staff “was still a source of the virus at the start of the first wave,” says Isabelle Dumaine, president of the Quebec Health Federation, affiliated with the CSQ (FSQ-CSQ).
The Alliance of Professional and Technical Staff in Health and Social Services (APTS) is also concerned about the new measure. “It’s inconsistent, because in the hospital, [les employés] share the same bathrooms, the same dining rooms. There are even places where the same common areas are open to visitors and to everyone, ”said Sandra Étienne, fourth vice-president of the APTS.
The Federation of Health and Social Services (FSSS-CSN) believes that “the network is not ready to face” this government decision. “We are not even in a position to test the personnel in [son] work environment ”, underlined Réjean Leclerc, president of the FSSS-CSN, in a press release.
Protect “the morale of the troops”
Measures will have to be put in place to avoid the excesses which would cause “irreparable damage to the morale of the troops”, estimates the DD Judy Morris, President of the Quebec Association of Emergency Physicians.
What I’m worried about is that there are some places that are so in trouble that they kinda force people with mild symptoms to come back.
The DD Judy Morris, President of the Quebec Association of Emergency Physicians
The new measure announced by the government will be used as a last resort, argues for his part François Paradis, president of the Association of pharmacists of health establishments of Quebec. A reorganization of the workforce will first be favored, he explains.
A “lesser evil”
The measure announced Tuesday is a “lesser evil”, according to Paul G. Brunet, President and CEO of the Council for the protection of patients. Abandoning patients is riskier than putting employees with COVID-19 to work with the necessary protective measures, he said.
It is out of the question for a sick employee to approach a resident, however, says Line Vincelli, director and owner of the Outremont Residence in Montreal. “I will come to replace [les employés] myself, if I have to, ”she exclaims on the phone.
“Accepting that an infected colleague come and work alongside them, it would really not be correct to do that to my employees,” continues M.me Vincelli. They could be infected and infect their families. We cannot do that, it is unacceptable. ”
Mme Vincelli regrets that stricter measures were not put in place during the holiday season, in order to avoid coming to such a decision.
An imperfect measure, but necessary
For its part, the Regroupement québécois des residences pour seniors welcomes this new measure. “At the moment, most of our members are doubly or triply vaccinated and there are very few hospitalizations among infected residents,” said Marc Fortin, president and CEO of the organization, in an interview with Press.
“In the perspective where there is a lack of staff and that we can not fall in service, it is the least worst of decisions,” he says.
The Association of Intermediate Accommodation Resources of Quebec is of the same opinion. It is a measure of last resort, “certainly imperfect, but become necessary” to avoid service disruptions in several intermediate resources across Quebec.
The Quebec Association of Owner Pharmacists also welcomed this new measure, which could “make it possible to alleviate the isolation measures for health personnel for [lui] allow to continue to work according to a list of priorities and conditions ”, one indicated in a press release.
For its part, the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec, says it does not disagree with the proposed measure, provided that it complies with the code of ethics and that “appropriate and clear” guidelines are put in place. she declared in the evening on Twitter.
With the collaboration of Alice Girard-Bossé, Press
Employment agencies reach out
The employment agencies, which have hundreds of employees available for work, are ready to help the health network. “We were excluded from solutions to the labor shortage on purely contractual bases, and in no way on the basis of speed of response or quality of service,” said Richard Mercier, spokesperson for the Regroupement des agencies. placement in the health sector, in a press release. A little more than 830 nurses, orderlies and nursing assistants could come and give a helping hand now, supports the group. Agencies say they are ready to contribute to the situation and find it abnormal for the government to call on the military or charities when they have resources available. “We are not asking for preferential treatment. We are only asking for fairness so that we too can provide health professionals who are ready to work now, ”he said. The Federation of Health and Social Services (FSSS-CSN) agrees. “We have asked the government for several months of integrating the staff of private agencies into the public network to come and lend a hand to the staff, ”says the federation’s information adviser, Hubert Forcier. Does Quebec intend to use agencies? At the time of writing, we had not received a response from the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services had not responded to questions from Press.
Alice Girard-Bossé, Press