P.E.I. health officials say long-term care facilities well-stocked with personal protective equipment

As P.E.I. starts examining what an easing of public health measures will look like, the province says that both public and private long-term care facilities are well-stocked with the personal protective equipment needed to fight COVID-19.

This comes after Dr. Heather Morrison said Tuesday that for a rollback of the public health restrictions to occur, private and public long-term care facilities on the Island would need to have access to the proper personal protective equipment (PPE). 

Marion Dowling, P.E.I.'s chief of nursing, reported back Wednesday that the public and private facilities are both well-stocked and said the province has a stockpile of PPE that private facilities can access. 

"They've been acquiring some personal protective equipment such as masks and gowns and gloves for a number of health services including private long-term care," she said. 

"And our public long-term care facilities have also received their allocation of that protective equipment." 

Dowling said that the province is also making sure the private facilities are aware they can acquire PPE from the central storage location, and ensure those facilities continue to have it on hand. 

Some of the private long-term care facilities on the Island said they're feeling more confident about the levels of PPE available to them.

'Enough on hand to get us to May'

Ramsay Duff, CEO of the MacLeod Group, said between the company's two long-term care facilities on P.E.I., he has 2,000 surgical masks available for staff with an additional 1,000 on the way. The group runs South Shore Villa in Crapaud and Clinton View Lodge in Kensington.

"We do feel we certainly have enough on hand to get us to May. And that would be the period that we'd be most concerned about," he said. 

And in the long term, Duff said he's becoming less concerned with the available supply of PPE. 

"The initiatives that the federal government and the provincial governments are completing around procurement do appear to be stabilizing supply and inventories," said Duff.  

"I'm much less concerned from May 1st going forward than I have been in the last number of weeks and into the early part of this month," he said. 

'I was very concerned'

For the Mount Continuing Care Community, being able to access the provincial stockpile has provided some relief. The facility was having difficulties sourcing the required amount of surgical masks from its traditional supplier, said Lindsay Dickieson, administrator of the Mount Continuing Care Community. 

"I'd say up until about 10 days ago I was very concerned," she said. 

Their supplier was telling Dickieson that orders were going to take longer to arrive, or that the Mount might receive fewer masks in their shipment than ordered.

But, Dickieson said being able to access the provincial stockpile has helped ensure the facility will have access to the PPE that it needs. 

"I do feel better about our levels of PPE and certainly what we have in stock, but then what we're able to replenish as well," she said. 

Dickieson's biggest concern is the availability of masks.  She said the Mount has moved to using reusable PPE where it can, like gowns and goggles. 

Increased measures

On April 21, the province released guidelines for long-term care facilities on the Island, which mandate all staff in long-term care facilities wear a mask for the duration of their shifts. 

And even though the supply of masks is at an acceptable level at the MacLeod Group, Duff worries what might happen if the guidance from the Chief Public Health Office changes. 

"We could in fact move from just masks to what they call full PPE, or full protective equipment, and that would involve additional pieces of equipment like facial shields, goggles and gowns," he said. 

Duff said his company does have a supply of those types of equipment, but much fewer than the masks currently being worn.

"We would want to be working very closely with the chief public health officer around inventory for those items," he said. 

COVID-19: What you need to know

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

Common symptoms include:

• Fever.

• Cough.

• Tiredness.

But more serious symptoms can develop, including difficulty breathing and pneumonia, which can lead to death.

Health Canada has built a self-assessment tool.

What should I do if I feel sick?

Isolate yourself and call 811. Do not visit an emergency room or urgent care centre to get tested. A health professional at 811 will give you advice and instructions.

How can I protect myself?

• Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

• Clean regularly touched surfaces regularly.

• Practise physical distancing.

More detailed information on the outbreak is available on the federal government's website.

More COVID-19 stories from CBC P.E.I.