Hamilton paramedics never accessed a COVID database with personal health information — why not?
Hamilton paramedics say they never accessed a database containing citizens' COVID-19 health information because they treat all patients as potentially COVID positive.
Hamilton police accessed it more than 10,000 times. The fire department accessed it infrequently."
In April, the province, through an emergency order, granted first responders access to a database containing the names, addresses and dates of birth of Ontarians who tested positive for COVID-19. The information was intended to protect Ontario's first responders and stop the spread of COVID-19," though the database did not state if the cases were active" or recovered.
Access to the database ended July 20, two days before the emergency order ended and amid a legal challenge from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
Civil liberty groups and privacy experts say police accessing citizen' health data is a violation of their privacy and can erode public trust in police and the health-care professionals.
Why paramedics didn't access the database
Paramedics did not access the database because they assume every patient might have COVID and also screen patients twice, said Chief Michael Sanderson of the Hamilton Paramedic Service.
Sanderson said when Hamiltonians call for an ambulance, they're screened by the dispatchers who notify paramedics if a patient is potentially positive. On scene, if a person's COVID status is still unclear, paramedics screen the patient again. Basic personal protective equipment (PPE) is always worn and, if they suspect the person is sick, paramedics use additional PPE.
As precautions are taken on all patients there has been no requirement to utilize the database," Sanderson said. Having further determination for paramedics would be redundant and would not make any difference."
In the event a patient is later confirmed positive, public health follows up with paramedics.
Why police accessed it
Hamilton police communication operators and supervisors accessed the database during calls for service when someone's COVID status was unclear, said police spokesperson Jackie Penman.
The database was only used in situations where an individual could not provide the answers to the screening questions or they were calling on behalf of someone else," Penman said. For example, an individual heard a disturbance in an adjoining unit."
The level of PPE officers were required to wear changed depending on if the person was listed in the database.
From April 17 to July 20, police accessed the database 10,293 times. They were dispatched to 34,433 calls for service. That adds up to approximately one query for every three calls. But Penman notes staff might have had to perform multiple queries for one call due to variations in how addresses or names were formatted.
Penman said police and paramedics' roles are very different."
Hamilton paramedics provide a medical response, while we provide a public safety emergency response," she said. We are reactive and discretionary time is not always on our side when responding to a call for service. As such, officers do not always have time to don PPE. The information contained in the database provided situational awareness when responding to a call."
Why the fire department accessed it
The Hamilton Fire Department confirmed it accessed the database infrequently."
In the infrequent circumstances where dispatchers were unable to receive COVID-19 screening information through ambulance dispatch or directly from a caller themselves, the database was used," Chief David Cunliffe said.
The fire department did not track how many times it accessed the database, Cunliffe said.
How Hamilton compared to other police services
Provincial data shows Hamilton police accessed the database the fifth-most times among all police forces - 10,293 times. Durham regional police accessed it 24,623 times, Thunder Bay police accessed it 14,831 times, York regional police accessed it 13,551 times and London police accessed it 10,475 times.
Halton police, in comparison - serving a population comparable to Hamilton's and with a COVID caseload similar to Hamilton's - accessed it just 201 times. Toronto police didn't access it at all.
It was up to local police forces to decide how they used the database.
Halton and Hamilton only allowed communication and dispatch personnel to access the database, but the circumstances for when Halton police accessed it differed.
When the lookup tool was active, in the course of responding to a call for service, an officer had the option of requesting that communicators ... access the COVID-19 risk lookup portal to determine if an individual has tested positive for COVID-19," said Const. Ryan Anderson, Halton police spokesperson.
Anderson said police recognize people might still have COVID even if they weren't in the portal.
Hamilton's police services board versus London's board's response
On Thursday, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who is also the chair of the Hamilton police services board, dismissed concerns about invasions of privacy.
To say people's rights were infringed on or that data was accessed with ill-intent I think is just irrational and inappropriate and wrong," Eisenberger said.
He said he personally was not aware police had access to the tool, though all police services boards were apprised of it in an April 6 memo from the province. Either way, the mayor said he was fine with police's access.
London's police services board took a different approach.
The last thing we felt would be good for our community would be any sort of policy that could lead people to not get tested because of their fear of disclosure of information," said Dr. Javeed Sukhera, chair of the London police services board and a practising psychiatrist. He noted marginalized communities already have a long-standing mistrust" of medical professionals and police.
The board wrote to the province sharing their concerns, asking them to reconsider disclosing personal health information. They never heard back.
Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com