The federal minister of health says Canada's Public Health Agency is ready to respond in the event of an Ebola outbreak, and that protocols and guidelines are in place for health care workers.
Health Minister Rona Ambrose said in a statement that the country's past experiences dealing with SARS, H1N1 and H5N1 have prepared it in the event Ebola arrives in Canada.
She stressed that it is critically important that frontline health care workers are protected against the virus.
"It is imperative that all frontline health care workers have guidance and information to deal with Ebola," Ambrose said. "They are the first line of defence against infectious diseases and they must be fully included in all communication."
Ambrose's statement came amid calls from several nurses associations for increased Ebola training and support for health care workers.
Earlier Wednesday, Doris Grinspun, CEO of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, said that many nurses and other health care workers in the province aren't properly trained to safely care for a patient who may present with Ebola-like symptoms.
"I have been informed by colleagues and friends at the frontlines of care, at the point of care, that in their view, at this point they don't feel well prepared," she said. "In fact, some went as far as saying to me that all they have seen is an email."
She added that many of her colleagues have told her that they have seen the protective gear used to guard health care workers against the virus in their hospitals, but they have not received adequate training on how to use it.
Grinspun said training and education must be provided, not only for hospital staff, but also for health care workers working in primary-care facilities, like walk-in clinics and doctors' offices.
But Ambrose said she had convened a call with the provincial and territorial health ministers Wednesday evening to ensure that they are providing the necessary training for all health-care workers.
"On this call I encouraged all provinces and territories to look into doing test runs to ensure protocols are in place, and proper personal protective gear is available," she said.
Meanwhile, Ontario's minister of health promised to release updated Ebola guidelines for Ontario health care workers by the end of the week.
"I want to ensure Ontarians that we are working collaboratively across Canada to make sure everyone is best prepared and following best practices," Dr. Eric Hoskins said.
Nurses across Canada concerned
Nurses' unions across the country expressed concerns Wednesday that they have not been properly trained to deal with an Ebola outbreak.
Gayle Duteil, president of the B.C. Nurses' Union, said three suspected cases of Ebola in the Vancouver region have exposed a glaring lack of preparation among health care workers.
All three cases were false alarms, but she said the scares revealed many nurses lack critical training on how to deal with a patient with Ebola-like symptoms.
"I do not believe that we are prepared on the ground level, on the front line," she said.
Jane Sustrik, vice-president of the United Nurses of Alberta Union, echoed the sentiment on Wednesday.
She cited one instance in which nurses were told they could wear regular masks when treating potential Ebola patients as an example of poor guidance.
"The nurses were not even told they were required to wear a N95 mask, that a regular mask would do," she said. "We know in the Ebola treatment that we're required to have a N95 mask."
The head of Alberta Health Services says she's aware of nurses' concerns and will work to further educate hospital staff.
Anne Sutherland Boal, CEO of the Canadian Nurses Association, told CTV's Power Play that Canada has the proper protocols in place to deal with an outbreak, but more can be done in terms of communication and training.
"We can always do more. We can learn from the experiences with SARS and H1N1 that you can never over-communicate, you can never over-train and you can never over-prepare for these eventualities," she said.
"That's where we can improve. We know what the protocols are, but it's very important that all 150,000 registered nurses in the country know those protocols."
2nd Dallas nurse tests positive for virus
The call for more training comes as a second Dallas nurse tested positive for Ebola Wednesday.
Both Dallas nurses had provided care for Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who died on Oct. 8.
Several patients in Canada have been quarantined and tested for Ebola, but so far there have been no positive tests for the disease.
According to the U.S. , during this outbreak there have been 8,400 Ebola cases and 4,033 deaths from the disease.
With files from CTV Edmonton's Veronica Jubinville
