Critical Shortage of PPE in Community Health Care

The shortage of PPE, or personal protective equipment, headline every major news source these days. Doug Ford announced that Ontario will run out within a week or so. But Ford is referring to hospitals. Community clinics, home care agencies, midwives and palliative care, to name a few, have inadequate supplies and many have already run out. While most appointments have moved to a virtual format, there remain patients who require physical care.

Thanks to the generosity of Halton Hills residents and businesses, 22 such agencies will be receiving a delivery tomorrow. Each will receive a box which contains:

• 2 boxes of gloves

• 5 disposable or 3 re-useable (washable) gowns

• 25 face masks

• 2 face shields

• 2 pairs of protective goggles

• 2 scrub caps

This is a result of Dr. Nadia Alam’s organizing efforts. She, and a group of community volunteers, medical students and doctors are leading the charge in Halton Hills organizing PPE on 3 fronts. There is:

• the Halton Hills PPE Sewers Group (making gowns and caps),

• the Halton Hills 3D Printing/Maker COVID-19 Response group (making face shields), and

• a separate drive for PPE for clinics, pharmacies, midwives and community agencies.

PPE that the hospital cannot accept can be used in the community. Hospitals can only accept unopened and un-expired product.

Normally health care workers in community offices, pharmacies and agencies purchase what they need from medical suppliers. But with COVID-19, the need for PPE has increased radically and the supply chain has run dry. Clinics were not able to stockpile additional resources in time as regular suppliers ran out or started prioritizing customers. Salons, dentists, auto body shops, and artists are a few of the places who have donated to Dr. Alam’s PPE drive. “Superior Glove in Acton recently donated thousands of gloves” says Alam, “which are vital as we need to change gloves between each patient, unlike some of our other equipment.”

The purpose of PPE is two-fold:

• it protects health care workers ensuring there are enough to support our community (family doctors often have hospital rotations and some specialists are in short supply), and

• it protects vulnerable patients requiring personal care, ensuring COVID-19 is not inadvertently passed on by health care workers.

If you have PPE to donate, please email the team at haltonhillscommunitydrive@gmail.com. Let’s make sure they can continue to keep Halton protected.