Alberta Health Services is tightening mask-wearing rules in hospitals to combat the coronavirus outbreak, but regions and hospitals are free to ignore the directive.
It’s also unclear who will have the final say if regions and their hospitals don’t agree to new rules.
AHS announced in a statement Wednesday that it will immediately require enhanced masks for all staff, doctors, midwives, students, volunteers, contracted service providers and inspectors in acute care facilities.
Masks will also be required for patients, helpers and visitors in the emergency department, with the possibility of expanding them to other areas of the hospital, including hallways, gift shops, cafeterias and elevators.
The decision will be based on several factors, including the number of outbreaks, hospitalization rates, and other variables.
“This directive supports zone and site leadership in determining whether enhanced masking is necessary,” AHS said in a statement.
The final decision rests with regions and individual hospitals, but it is unclear who will make the decision if local leaders disagree on what is needed.
The agency also asked whether, if a hospital agrees to implement a locally mandated mask order, it must adhere to that order, or if the hospital does what is appropriate, such as requiring masks in hallways but not indoors. It has not been made clear whether he has the authority to make adjustments to make decisions. cafeteria.
Asked for clarification, AHS responded in a statement: “Zone and facility teams will work together to find solutions that best care for patients.”
The move comes as AHS is dealing with multiple COVID-19 outbreaks at hospitals across the province, including Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Athabasca and Medicine Hat.
Outbreaks vary in size. At the Medicine Hat facility, 10 patients and seven health-care workers are affected in one ward, while at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, 79 patients and 41 health-care workers are spread across 12 wards. There is.
In the latest figures, Alberta recorded 730 new coronavirus cases in the week ending Sept. 30.
Premier Daniel Smith has made clear his dissatisfaction with the AHS, accusing it of being too top-down and not flexible enough to make decisions tailored to local circumstances.
She has tasked Health Minister Adriana Lagrange with decentralizing AHS, with next steps promised when Parliament reconvenes for the fall session later this month.
