A national group says Nova Scotia’s ability to prevent and control infections is being put at risk with cuts to the province’s health department.
Infection Prevention and Control Canada (IPAC) is an organization that promotes best practice in infection prevention and control.
In an interview with Global News, IPAC’s Executive Director Gerry Hansen says the decision to close Nova Scotia’s Office of Infection Prevention and Control means citizens won’t get “the same degree of protection that they’ve had.”
The move is part of broader cuts in the Department of Health and Wellness, announced in late January. The two staff who work in the department’s office of infection prevention and control will be moved to the Nova Scotia Health Authority. Hansen called the move risky because she says it raises questions around oversight, thorough monitoring and prevention work, and the level of resources available for the staff doing the work.
The office that is being closed was responsible for infection monitoring in health care facilities like hospitals, but also in the community including dentist offices, daycares and other places where infections could be transmitted. The broad scope and mandate of the office made it easier for the office to work on infection prevention tools which is more cost effective, Hansen said.
The changes could also add more pressure to the health care system if more outbreaks occur as a result of the cut.
It’s a “step in the wrong direction,” Hansen said. “It’s going to cause more pressures to hospitals and acute care systems.”
The office will be closed effective April 1, when the department’s new organization is launched. Chief Public Health Officer Robert Strang says some details are still to be worked out but he doesn’t agree that the changes will increase the risks for Nova Scotians. He says his office will be responsible for prevention and control in the community and the health authority will be responsible for it in the health care system for everything from EHS, long term care, and hospitals. He said the two groups work closely together and who would lead an infection outbreak response will depend on where the infection is based.
“We’re not stepping backwards, in fact we’re moving forward, we’re maintaining capacity and we actually have a greater ability to have a coordinated approach around infection control,” Strang said.
However, the division of responsibilities, rather than having one overarching body responsible for infection prevention and control leaves gaps, Hansen said.
“This new leaner system that’s proposed, does not provide the same degree of support and protection to Nova Scotians as the infection control department does at the government level.”
In 2012, the auditor general said the office wasn’t “sufficiently staffed” to fulfill its mandate. He said the staff totals should be upped from two, but that didn’t happen. Strang says there’s no longer a need for more staff because the health authority amalgamation streamlined the system and cut down on overlaps. Again Infection Prevention and Control Canada says that’s not enough and more focus should be put on the role with superbugs and antibiotic resistance on the rise.
“Bacteria virurses and pathogens don’t really care that books are balanced,” Hansen said.
Infection Prevention and Control Canada is calling on the health department to reverse the changes and is asking for a meeting with department officials. The health department says it’s still deciding whether that meeting will take place.
The president of the organization is also director of healthcare quality and patient safety, that position is one of the jobs that will be cut as of April 1. Hansen said the president had no involvement in decided how to respond to the announced cuts.
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