The President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions says the biggest issues facing nurses across the country right now are staffing shortages and access to Personal Protective Equipment.

Linda Silas says “it’s a mess out there,” as the province and country deal with a surge in COVID cases.

Not only that but there’s hardly any planning on how the problems are going to get fixed.

In the meantime, some jurisdictions have opened conversation about the possibility of calling in nurses and other health care workers who may have tested positive for COVID, but who are not showing symptoms.

She calls that “bad practice,” but understands that some areas have no choice in the matter.

She says what they want to make sure is that nurses are not forced to come into work.

That’s why, says Silas, the appropriate PPE is so important.