Safe blood? UNA disgrees with federal minister’s decision to allow unregulated workers to screen potential blood donors
EDMONTON The United Nurses of Alberta disagrees with last week’s decision to allow Canadian Blood Services’ to conduct a pilot project replacing nurses with low-skilled workers for initial blood donor screening.
The decision was made in Ottawa by federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and announced last Thursday.
“We believe it is the wrong road to travel – totally motivated by a desire to “cheapen” our blood supply,” says UNA President Heather Smith.
UNA joins nurses’ unions across the country in calling for a transparent, independent and thorough evaluation of this questionable experiment with blood and donor safety.
“Health Canada says it approved the CBS proposal with conditions. It is disappointing, though, that Health Canada is refusing to make those conditions public. So much for transparency and accountability,” says Heather Smith.
After the tainted blood scandal of the 1990s, the Krever Inquiry wrote: “careful screening is essential to maintain a safe blood supply and it must continue.” Krever also noted “the principle of safety must transcend oth er principles and policies.”
UNA has been told by CBS that one of the new screening system pilots would likely be run in Edmonton.
UNA and the national Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions have written to both Health Minister Aglukkaq and to Alberta Health and Wellness Minister Gene Zwozdesky about safety concerns with the staffing change.
The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) commissioned external research on blood donor practices that found:
- CBS’ proposed donation model is not aligned with international best practices. In most other OECD countries nurses and/or doctors are routinely used to screen potential blood donors, contrary to CBS’ claim that they are not;
- there is no compelling evidence that the use of low-skilled, unregulated workers will ensure the safety of the blood supply or donor health; and
- CBS can address the issue of nurse retention and recruitment by improving the quality of their workplaces.
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