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Group of Alberta doctors say face masks provided by AHS are substandard
An group called #abdocs4patients has sent a letter to the province with concerns about the current supply of face masks being provided by Alberta Health Services.A group called #abdocs4patients says these masks, currently being provided to health-care workers by Alberta Health Services, are substandard. (Name withheld by request)A group of more than 150 Alberta doctors…
An group called #abdocs4patients has sent a letter to the province with concerns about the current supply of face masks being provided by Alberta Health Services.
A group of more than 150 Alberta doctors has sent a letter to the province with “grave concerns” about the current supply of face masks being provided to health-care workers by Alberta Health Services
The group, which calls itself #abdocs4patients, says the current supply of Vanch disposable medical masks do not fit properly, consistently malfunction, cause skin irritation, nausea and headaches.
Spokesperson Dr. John Julyan-Gudgeon said the letter was sent on Thursday to Health Minister Tyler Shandro and Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO of Alberta Health Services.
Julyan-Gudgeon thinks the biggest concern is that the masks do not provide adequate personal protection.
“They do not have the particle filtration capacity nor the splash protection,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
The issue of the Vanch masks was first raised by health-care workers in mid-April.
At the time, Jitendra Prasad, the Alberta Health Services official in charge of contracting and procurement, said the masks met clinical standards and any issues had more to do with personal preferences for an older model.
Prasad said the province has been buying masks from China for two decades adding that they were tested prior to being purchased.
AHS reiterated its stance in a statement to the CBC on Thursday, which is almost identical to a statement it released on April 22.
“All PPE purchased and provided by AHS is approved for medical use and meets health-care standards,” the statement says.
“AHS has worked with the suppliers to have the nose pieces adjusted and the length of the mask [from nose to chin] increased for a better fit. These changes will be in place for the next shipment to AHS.”
In the meantime, AHS recommends that doctors can compress the entire edge of the mask containing the nose piece in a ‘W' shape to help the fit across the nose, and adding a face shield for extra protection.
AHS says it is confident it can resolve the issues that have been identified and that it has created a quality control group to field test any new models or products.
That's not good enough for Julyan-Gudgeon.
“The government, in the form AHS media, has stated that they are meeting a standard,” he said. “Then when you challenge them on it they send you links as to how to wear the mask … but they seem to shy away from any discussion of the exact performance standards”
Julyan-Gudgeon believes AHS is only focusing on esthetics.
“They're not getting the point that the actual protection performance of these masks are, by an established protocol, already substandard,” he said.
Julyan-Gudgeon said he wants the government to be more transparent about understanding what the standards are and then follow through on delivering those standards.
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