Following membership actions around access to PPE, and through joint efforts with other unions in the health care sector, the previous directive negotiated by ONA has been expanded to include other staff in hospitals, and to include LTC (both nursing homes and retirement homes).
Please review the directive in detail as there are a few pieces to draw your attention to:
- The first paragraph (above the first bullet) in the Required Precautions and Procedures section defines important terms contained within the scope of the directive:
- “health care worker” refers to a regulated health professional as defined under the Regulated Health Professionals Act;
- “other employees” refers to other employees employed by or in public hospitals and long term care homes – for our purposes this would cover PSWs, housekeeping, dietary, etc…
- Only “health care workers,” as defined above, are able to perform the point-of-care risk assessment (PCRA);
- If a PCRA has been performed, and it has been determined that N95s are required, we are in a very strong position to insist that those cannot be unreasonably denied;
- We can point to this directive to also assert that anyone working within 2 metres of a suspected, or confirmed, COVID resident should be provided appropriate PPE, including an N95;
- If there is a possible shortage of PPE that the Employer must consult with the union on contingency plans (3rd bullet). We are also supposed to engage on the conservation and stewardship of PPE (1st bullet). Those two bullets can be combined to make a very compelling case for employers to engage pro-actively in open discussion around PPE supply, but at minimum there is a clear requirement to consult in the event of a possible shortage.
- Please keep the working group informed of examples where staff have requested an N95 and have been refused so that we can assess and advise on next steps, including work refusals and complaints to the MOL.
English: CMOH Directive 5 Revised 2020-04-10