Members of the Regina Fire and Protective Services are providing support to Parkside Extendicare as it deals with staffing shortages due to the largest COVID-19 outbreak in a Saskatchewan long-term care facility.
As of Monday evening, 94 residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, along with 53 staff members. The care home moved 25 residents to Pioneer Village after their tests came back negative.
The union representing the workers told Global News Tuesday that 35 more staff members are self-isolating.
“The number of employees who are COVID-positive continues to grow and fluctuate every day. A number of employees are having to self-isolate because of exposure or close contacts,” said Barbara Cape, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president.
“That, combined with running to provide that care, combined with the anxiety and stress of living and working in a pandemic, these members are freaked out, they’re upset and they are burning out.”
According to a statement from Regina fire, members started working 12-hour shifts on Sunday to help out with everything from personal care to COVID-19 swab testing.
“Last Friday evening, the Saskatchewan Health Authority connected Regina Fire & Protective Services with Parkside Extendicare who requested assistance with the care of residents as they prepared for transport to other care facilities,” Deputy Chief Neil Sundeen said in the statement.
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“With more than 100 firefighters qualified as paramedics plus an additional 146 as medical first responders, who are all trained and skilled in many types of medical care, we were quick to provide several four-member teams to assist.
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“This work will continue until Wednesday and at this time, no further assistance has been requested. An assignment like this is not without some risk. We are confident that with the PPE (personal protective equipment), training and experience of our teams, that this risk is well managed.”
Seniors and Rural and Remote Health Minister Everett Hindley said the province is trying to provide as much support as possible as the outbreak continues.
“Our ministry officials have been in contact and regular contact in this instance with the officials at Extendicare to offer as much support on a day-to-day basis, to make sure that we are providing as much support as we can to the staff and residents who are going through this,” Hindley said.
But Cape said staff weren’t given the proper personal protective equipment when the pandemic began, which put them behind the eight ball.
“The way that I know this are through the call and the emails that we were getting from our members who had real concerns about both the quality and access to surgical masks, gowns and gloves,” Cape said.
“Once the outbreak got rolling in November, PPEs masks, gloves, better gloves, all that started rolling into the facility, which is wonderful but disappointing because it was too late — the virus already has a foothold in the facility.”
Cape said part of the problem was the disconnect between the SHA and the Ministry of Health sharing supplies between all health-care providers.
“I understand they are trying to make sure they have a stable supply in the event that things get worse, but at the same time you have outliers out there like Extendicare, who are desperately looking for masks, gowns, gloves to make sure those health-care workers have the ability to provide the same level of care as the care being provided in the public system,” Cape said.
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