Liberal health critic says community care overworked on P.E.I. due to COVID-19

Liberal health critic Robert Henderson says he's received concerns from both patients and workers in the community health sector on P.E.I. about access to home care, palliative care and acute care, amid COVID-19 measures.

Henderson saidworkers providing home care told him they can only give a certain level of service and they are extremely busy.

He also noted home-care workers have been looking after some patients who have been discharged from hospital and it is causing strain.

While Henderson said P.E.I. Chief PublicHealthOfficer Dr. Heather Morrison has done a good job of preparing for the outbreak of COVID-19, he said the system still has to be ready to provide other health services to Islanders.

"I'm getting phone calls from people who are expecting certain services, in-home care services," Henderson said.

"I'm also getting phone calls from people providing services like palliative care, acute care, those types of services where beds have been reduced and they're not getting the hours they used to get," he said.

Henderson said hearing from both patients and providers indicates a problem.

Reassigning staff amidCOVID-19

At a news briefing on Friday, P.E.I.'s Chief of NursingMarion Dowlingsaid workers in ambulatory care, for instance, hadbeen redeployed to other areas of the system to address potential gaps, such as in community care.

"At the beginning within the acute care sector ... we had redeployed a number of staff from within the hospital to do training and additional preparedness for the surge in patients and intensive care.

"Moving to essential services within community and not offering some of our group programming ... have also allowed that staff to then be offering the additional services at the screening clinics and the testing sites."

At the beginning of Health PEI's response to COVID-19, Dowling said it also redeployed a number of staff to do training andpreparefor a potentialsurge in patients.

As some medical services have been cut back to reallocate resources to deal with the pandemic, Hendersonsaid it will take a while for the health system to catch up.

"There's only [so many] other ways those services can be delivered and home care is one of those.When you are having people that may be awaiting long-term care or awaiting palliative care and they just can't access those services they have to take other courses of action which is through the home."

Health services returning

Dowling indicated some health services will return in the coming weeks as an ease back plan is put into motion.

She also highlighted thatthe necessary protective equipment have been made available to home-care workers who are also trained to conduct appointed risk assessments by screening their clients."Based on theirtravel history, whether they've been traveling from out of province, if they are home self-isolating and are requiring this service.

"[Home-care workers] would use the necessary PPE to see those clients, or be able to schedule some of those services, or do it virtually."

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 aself-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.
• Practisephysical distancing.

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

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