Emergency responders, health-care providers and good Samaritans have new protection and peace of mind when providing medical care or responding to a crime scene, fire or accident following the proclamation of the Testing of Bodily Fluids and Disclosure Act, Health Minister Theresa Oswald announced.
“This new act supports Manitobans who put their own safety at risk to help others,” said Oswald. “Our front-line workers in health care and emergency response, good Samaritans and victims of crime now have a new tool to quickly determine if their own health has been put at risk.”
“We appreciate the Doer government’s leadership role in recognizing the situation firefighters are put in on a daily basis,” said Alex Forrest, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg. “Passage of this bill goes a long way toward giving us peace of mind when we’re facing situations where infectious diseases pose a real threat.”
“This act will help protect the health and safety of our emergency services personnel,” said Winnipeg Police Service Chief Keith McCaskill. “It is vitally important to assure the health of our employees when they’ve potentially been exposed to infectious diseases.”
“Every day, paramedics and other emergency workers face the very real possibility of personal exposure to bodily fluids as a result of trying to help people in need,” said Eric Glass, chair of the Paramedic Association of Manitoba. “While the chance of infection following such exposures may be small, it is not insignificant. The uncertainty and potential health risks faced by emergency services personnel and their families following these exposures can have serious consequences. This legislation will help address these issues and allow paramedics to make more informed decisions.”
An individual can apply for a testing order if they are exposed to the bodily fluids of another person:
• while performing duties as a firefighter, paramedic or peace officer;
• while performing duties as a nurse or health-care aide;
• while providing emergency health services or first aid; or
• as a result of being a victim of crime.
This act creates a faster process to allow a judicial justice of the peace to determine if a testing order is warranted. A testing order can be issued if a judicial justice of the peace believes the applicant has been exposed to a bodily fluid from someone they have treated or dealt with who has refused to volunteer for testing. For an order to be issued, the applicant’s health must be considered to be at risk due to the nature of the exposure. Once the order is issued, the source individual will have 24 hours to register an objection to the order. Manitoba is the only province with a process for an expedited order.
Testing will be done to determine if there has been an exposure to communicable diseases including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Results will be provided to the applicant’s physician and the source person’s physician to communicate to their patient. If either the source person’s or the applicant’s physician is unknown, the result will be sent to the appropriate medical officer of health.
