Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By Jill Sperling

RIH OUTBREAK

RIH staff feeling anxious, burned out as a result of hospital outbreak

Jan 29, 2021 | 5:03 PM

KAMLOOPS — The COVID-19 outbreak at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops has grown at a rapid pace since it was first declared.

As of Friday (Jan. 29), Interior Health confirmed 71 cases total cases, including one death. This was unchanged from Thursday. Among the cases, 46 staff have been infected and the hospital is facing challenges with staffing.

Nurses, doctors and other hospital staff are burning out. In addition, rumours and assumptions about how the outbreak started is taking its toll on morale.

BC Nurses’ Union (BCNU) President Christine Sorensen says the outbreak is an example of how easily the virus can spread.

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“It just goes to show how indoors and in a crowded location, even with staff who have access to PPE (personal protective equipment) and are following infection control measures you can still have widespread outbreak quickly,” Sorensen said. “I think as a member of the public, we all need to be alive to the fact that the risk is great to all of us.”

The outbreak was declared one week ago on unit 6 South. It spread to patients in the ward, but even more so among staff.

Mike Old, interim secretary business manager with the Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU), says staffing shortages are of great concern.

“There are many workers who are off with COVID-19 at this point and there are probably others who are being isolated, so this has a domino effect across the hospital,” Old said. “I’m sure there’s lots of redeployment of staff between units. It’s a very worrying situation for sure and we’re hoping it gets under control very quickly.”

Sorensen says BCNU representatives participating in an investigation into the outbreak are struggling to get the information they need.

“We have been calling on greater transparency,” she said, “not only around this outbreak, but many others, as well as issues in long term care, access to PPE, the vaccine rollout. This continues to be an ongoing issue that we have great frustration around, and also the difficulty nurses are having speaking up about these things and the repercussions that they face if they do speak up and speak out.”

Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian says his communication with Interior Health has been good, but he says they have been restricted in what they can say.

“The problem is that they’re hamstrung by the provincial health officer, by the Minister of Health, by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control to ensure that the messaging is consistent,” Christian said. “That is what you have to trade off for timeliness and unfortunately you lose control of the message sometimes because there are other sources for information or part-information to get out.”

A lack of timely information has allowed for rumours to spread about how the outbreak happened and who is to blame.

“Many of our members are feeling anxiety and guilt about whether they brought it into the hospital, but I think if everybody follows the proper procedures we will get through this,” Old said. “If it gets into the hospital it’s because there’s been infection in the community, so that’s what we really have to be on top of.”