# 4663
The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is a non-profit group that serves businesses, Industry, government and consumers in Canada and around the world.
They’ve recently released a 42 page white paper based on lessons learned from a one-day pandemic roundtable, attended by the Health Care and first response sector, which was held last December.
Their recommendations focus on five main areas:
Pandemic Preparedness Planning
Personal Protective Equipment
Antiviral Medications
Vaccine Development and Delivery
Communications
Since these voices come from the front line – Health Care and emergency workers who are expected to have close, ongoing contact with infected individuals during a pandemic – it comes as no surprise that one of the conclusions was:
Given that it takes approximately six months to develop a vaccine once the virus is identified, as was the case with the H1N1, roundtable participants felt strongly that more emphasis needs to be put on access to personal protective equipment (such as specialized masks, gowns, and gloves) and antivirals (medications that work by interfering with the ability of the virus to reproduce in the body).
If you’ll recall, the safety of health care workers was one of the major concerns during the opening months of the pandemic, due largely to confusing and inconsistent guidelines and access to personal protective equipment (PPEs), along with restricted use of antivirals for pre-exposure and post exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
A few blogs on those subjects include:
The Respirator Controversy Continues
ANA Calls Shortage Of N95 Respirators Unacceptable
CNA/NNOC Plan Protest Over Inadequate H1N1 Protection
Report: Nurses File Complaint Over Lack Of PPE
Pandemic PEP Talk
Here is the CSA description of the event, followed by a link to the paper.
About the CSA Roundtable and White Paper
On December 15, 2009, CSA hosted the national Roundtable on Healthcare and Emergency Service Sector Pandemic Preparedness that was moderated by Dr. Allan Holmes, a fellowship-trained emergency physician, president of Global Medical Services, and pandemic advisor to federal and provincial governments and corporations across Canada. This one-day roundtable was possible thanks to arms-length support from Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche Canada).
CSA roundtable Participants included representatives from the following organizations: Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada; Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians; Canadian Healthcare Association; Canadian Nurses Association; Centre for Excellence in Emergency Preparedness, College of Family Physicians of Canada; Hamilton Health Sciences Centre; National Emergency Nurses Affiliation; Ontario Hospital Association; Ottawa Hospital; and Prince George Fire Fighters Union.
Voices From the H1N1 Pandemic Front Lines: A White Paper on How Canada Could Do Better Next Time
A hat tip to Arkanoid Legent for the link to this study.
