Callers to Sask. 811 HealthLine experiencing long waits in wake of COVID-19

Saskatchewan's Ministry of Health says it is working to find solutions as people from across the province face long waits to get through to the province's 811 HealthLine system.

The ministry has promoted the HealthLine as a way to keep potentially sick patients out of the hospital and avoid infecting others. The line has been deluged by people worried about their health.

Lucas Richards called 811 Thursday after developing a sore throat and a mild fever. His first attempts were met with a busy signal.

Despite calling repeatedly all day, he never got through.

"I eventually got put on hold and they said I was caller, like, 52 and it was a two hour on-hold wait," he said.

"When I got to the front of the line, something happened where it hung up on me."

Richards eventually broke down and went to his local clinic Friday morning. He was diagnosed with strep throat.

"It's clear how under-prepared we are for something like this," he said.

"We're lucky the coronavirus doesn't have a way higher fatality rate."

Phoning doctors

On Friday, the Ministry of Health announced that doctors would now be able to offer "virtual appointments" with patients over the phone.

The province created a new payment code for doctors, which would allow them to be paid for the phone appointments.

The ministry is also working on a secure video system to allow patients and doctors to communicate.

"The SMA [Saskatchewan Medical Association] is pleased with this development because it provides patients with remote access to physicians," SMA president Dr. Allan Woo said in a news release.  

"This kind of access also provides a safer work environment for doctors and their staff during this pandemic."

Health Minister Jim Reiter said Thursday he had ordered an action plan, expected Friday, on how to improve the clogged health line, saying that the line needed to expand its services.

Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan's chief medical officer, cautioned the public to not call the line with general questions about the virus, but to seek information on the province's COVID-19 web page.

Mask concerns

Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) said it is concerned about protecting nurses during the pandemic.

It's asking that the Ministry of Health provide nurses with N95 respirators, rather than paper face masks.

"[Ministry officials] are saying that you've got enough protection with the surgical mask," said SUN president Tracy Zambory. 

"We're saying that we don't agree with that."

The N95 masks are designed to protect people from airborne particles. Zambory said they are necessary to keep nurses safe.

"We don't want registered nurses contracting COVID-19," she said.

"They don't want to contract COVID-19 and nor do they want to become a vector for COVID-19 to spread it out into the public."

Zambory expressed worry about patients coughing on nurses in situations like when they're getting their throats swabbed.

"These people cannot help but to cough when you're rubbing the back of their throat," she said.

"They're going to cough or sneeze in your face, and not only will that hit the professional who is doing the swab, it's going to spray the entire area that they're in."

Zambory brought up the deaths of two Canadian nurses who died during the SARS epidemic in 2003 and said the system must do everything to avoid that happening again.