Hospital staff at Toronto’s world-renowned University Health Network fear they may be putting patients at risk of contracting COVID-19 and are frustrated over the executive’s “mis-communications,” transportation, and other issues, according to two anonymous online question-and-answer forums reviewed by the Star.

The forums, facilitated by UHN from March 23 to March 28, appear to highlight the frustration and strain felt by some front-line workers, and reveal how hospital staff are coping with the surge of stress and nonstop work brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only hospital workers were sent a link, but it appears that anyone can pose a question in the forum and most posts were anonymous or listed only a first name.

Nearly 500 questions were submitted to two forums over a four-day span. UHN administration responded to the highest-voted questions in unsearchable videos live-streamed to staff. The Star was sent links to two of the forums and also viewed one of the live-streamed videos.

According to Gillian Howard, a spokesperson for UHN, the forum is set up by the hospital and staff members are invited to submit their questions. The forums have been going on for at least a year and, of late, UHN has been conducting them more frequently, according to Howard. One question, put to the executive on March 25, reads: “We are all stressed at this time, so how is it that some are granted leave while the rest of us are simply expected to find better ways to deal with our stress? There is some serious favouritism going on by managers.” That entry got 70 upvotes and eight downvotes.

In an interview, Howard said that the circumstances of stress leave are between that person, their manager and Occupational Health. Howard told the Star that “UHN is working with our wellness area to develop ways to alleviate stress.” The Employee Assistance Program is also available to “all staff on a confidential basis and we encourage staff to take advantage of this program.”

Another question reads: “If my role can be done working from home, why am I still coming into the hospital to work? … It only increases foot traffic and the possibility of bringing (COVID-19) into work….” That posting received 153 upvotes, or likes. It also got 56 downvotes.

Howard told the Star that within the UHN, “some treatments do require close contact and the appropriate protective equipment is worn in these cases. Provided people are maintaining six feet between themselves and others and taking the precautions above, they are doing everything they can to maintain their health and support essential care.”

The hospital network has tried to limit foot traffic and curb the spread of COVID-19 by postponing elective surgeries and moving roughly half of all clinic visits online. All meetings between hospital staff are being conducted virtually as well, Howard said.

She also says that about half of the physicians’ support staff for Princess Margaret Hospital in particular work out of offices at the Ontario Hydro building, not in the hospital itself.

Workers in clinical areas must wear masks at all times, according to UHN, but one administrator from Princess Margaret Hospital told the Star that very few employees within the Hydro building are able to follow this recommendation, including staff who interact with physicians. “No one wears masks at Hydro,” she said. “Everyone is scared.” The administrator spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to media.

When asked to respond, Howard said that “the individuals working in the Ontario Hydro building are not working directly with patients. Our policy is that front-line staff are to wear masks when they are working with patients.”

Parking is another issue for hospital workers. They’ve been asked not to take TTC and UHN is encouraging staffers to get a ride from a family member or to drive themselves into work, but some can’t afford the parking rates. UHN has acknowledged this issue, and is planning on lowering the cost of the 10-day staff pass from $127.50 to $100.00 starting April 6. The evening and weekend rate will also be lowered from $8.00 to $6.00.

Even with these changes, concerns seem to linger among staff. One of the highest-voted questions from March 25 reads: “Can there be free parking for staff? How are we expected to be able to afford these ‘discounted parking rates?’ … Are we supposed to take the subway and not practice social distancing?”

UHN told the Star that suggestion has been forwarded to the “appropriate department of the hospital.”

In the meantime, some of the staffers who aren’t yet cleared to work from home have been forced to take public transit. “I am trying to limit how often I spend in public spaces,” reads one anonymous question from March 25. “And I can do that by driving to work. However, the cost of parking is too high for me given that the TTC costs $6.40. It is double that to park.”

As of Friday, three TTC employees had tested positive for COVID-19 — one bus mechanic, one subway operator, and one Wheel-Trans driver. One GO Transit train operator had also tested positive.

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Dr. Kevin Smith, president and CEO of UHN, addressed the “tone and respect” of the questions posed online in an unsearchable YouTube video.

“I want to be sympathetic to the fact that people are anxious right now, and sometimes when we’re most anxious we’re not at our best in terms of diplomacy and respectfulness…. But it’s now that we have to be pulled more closely than ever before. There’s no one in the chain at UHN who isn’t important and who doesn’t deserve to be treated respectfully.”

Hayley Chazan, spokesperson for Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliott, says that the province expects hospitals to take the necessary precautions to protect the safety of their employees.

“This means all employees should have access to soap and water or hand sanitizer and clean washroom facilities. Commonly touched surfaces should be regularly disinfected. Some other considerations include: enforcing greater distances between workers, staggering staff breaks at different times to avoid large groups, and limiting the number of people in tight spaces, including elevators.”

Despite this recommendation, the third-most popular entry from March 25 — with 118 upvotes and six downvotes — asks UHN to post signs on elevators reminding people of physical distancing.

“We come through the screening at the door and then 10 people crowd into the elevator,” reads one question. “Some staff have been quite aggressive especially in the morning, getting on and crowding the elevator,” reads another.

UHN told the Star that every person is “responsible for physical distancing,” and that all staff are self-screening for symptoms.

“Nobody should be coming to work while ill,” Howard says. “If we are not coming to work ill, washing our hands frequently, not touching our faces and maintaining physical distance as much as we possibly can, we are taking all of the steps that we can to protect ourselves.”

Chazan says that the province is in discussions with any hospital that has provided “conflicting guidance” to their frontline staff to better understand their circumstances and to determine how these issues might be solved.

With files from Ben Spurr