Manitoba Nurses' Union President Sandi Mowat joined CFNU President Linda Silas and other union representatives to meet with Minister of Health Theresa Oswald about proper protection for health care workers during the next wave of H1N1. 

Oswald was co-chair of the National Conference of Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Health held Sept. 16 in Winnipeg. The meeting included Canadian Federation of Nurses' Unions President Linda Silas, MNU president Sandi Mowat, Saskatchewan Union of Nurses President Rosalee Longmoore and Ontario Nurses' Association health and safety representative Erna Bujna.  

"Nurses should be protected by wearing an N95 mask when working with H1N1 patients," Mowat said following the meeting. "The Minister of Health seemed receptive and agreed to speak to her colleagues about our concerns."

During the meeting, Silas told Oswald polls show that 85 per cent of nurses believe H1N1 is a serious threat and 77 per cent feel it's important for the government to take all possible precautions to minimize the risks for nurses.

Silas also said that the Canadian Pandemic Plan, called Annex F, won't protect all nurses in the same way.

"If the federal government releases Annex F as it is currently drafted and provinces and territories accept it verbatim, a nurse in Ontario will be better protected than a nurse anywhere else in Canada," Silas said. "This is not a message that our members, or the public, want to hear. They want to hear the government is taking all possible precautions to eliminate and minimize the risks to health care workers."