Two Montreal hospitals are training their staff members to deal with a possible outbreak of the Ebola virus, though some healthcare workers worry it won’t be enough.
Ste. Justine and Notre Dame Hospital have been designated as treatment centres where any possible Ebola patients will be sent.
“You need to know what you need to wear when you go into that room and how you remove it. Whether you are going to intubate that patient or clean the room, it is all the same,” said Dr. Caroline Quatch at a training session at the Montreal Children’s Hospital Wednesday.
Every hospital in the province has an on-site specialist in Ebola protocols. Quebec Public Health has also reached out to clinics and ERs to ensure people on the front lines know how to screen for the deadly disease.
“We will make sure that everybody who can be exposed to a case knows what to do and where to go,” said Dr. Horacio Arruda, the director of Quebec Public Health.
Quebec's main union for health care professionals however, insists that all health care workers should be trained to deal in advanced biosafety techniques.
Line Larocque said all staff members in hospitals, CLSCs, and walk-in clinics should know how to deal with a deadly virus, and have the specialized equipment necessary.
"It did appear in the past that we have a case of H1N1, let's say, and we needed a specific mask but there was no mask available. They were locked in someplace that the person with the key was not available, so you understand how it can be crazy," said Larocque.
“It seems to be easy, but the possibility of getting infected is very high if you do not do it properly, so the concern is, do we have enough training, do we have enough information and this doesn't seem to be as per our professionals. They want more,” she said.
Larocque also wants Quebec to examine the treatment of a patient in Texas, and how a nurse contracted the deadly disease from a sick patient.
Quebec Health Minister Gaetan Barrette said he understands their concerns
“If nurses were not worried, I would be very surprised,” he said. “This is worrisome to everyone, including doctors, but we are prepared. We know what to do.”
Barrette said part of the problem in Texas is that strict protocols were not followed.
For now, Arrudasaid he is confident that current training sessions are going well
“We will intensify our communication with the healthcare system. We are going to have conference calls every week, we do have some but we are going to have more regular ones so everyone who must know is aware of,” he said.
More steps will be taken, said Quatch.
“Now we've trained for low-risk patients and now we're starting the training for patients with a lot of discharges to wear the hazmat suit and the rest of it so that's our next step,” she said.
