Hundreds of nurses from across B.C. took to the streets of Downtown Vancouver Wednesday (May 31) to hold the government accountable for minimum nurse-patient ratios.
In town for a B.C. Nurses Union conference, nurses marched from the Hyatt Regency Vancouver Hotel to Jack Poole Plaza, chanting that B次元官网网址渟afe staffing saves lives.B次元官网网址�
BCNU president Aman Grewal said nurses are B次元官网网址渏uggling dangerous workloadsB次元官网网址� everyday, responsible for a large number of patients B次元官网网址渁ll with diverse and acute needs.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he shortage has reached such dire levels that we regularly see temporary closures of emergency rooms in communities around B.C.B次元官网网址�
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In April, the NursesB次元官网网址� Bargaining Association and the province reached an agreement to implement minimum nurse-patient ratios across health-care settings, which has the promise to improve the staffing and practice conditions needed to keep nurses in the profession and improve patient care.
Grewal said the nurse-patient ration prioritizes work-life balance, can lead to less burnout among nurses, fewer incidents of missed care, lower rates of patient mortality and waiting less time for medication.
B次元官网网址淚t can mean the difference between life and death.B次元官网网址�
It comes as doctors around B.C., and specifically at Surrey Memorial Hospital, have been calling out issues in emergency departments and hospitals for weeks.
Just this week, an open letter from more than 35 womenB次元官网网址檚 health physicians and midwives expressed concern for B次元官网网址渦nsafe conditions and adverse outcomesB次元官网网址� at Surrey Memorial B次元官网网址� including accusations that these gaps led to a newborn death.
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Surrey Memorial nurse Peggy Holton said staff is exhausted and tired. ThatB次元官网网址檚 due to a lot of reasons, including a quickly growing population with the health-care infrastructure to support it.
She said people come into the emergency department B次元官网网址� where she works sometimes B次元官网网址� knowing they will at some point get to see a doctor or nurse.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 worth it for them for a 12-hour wait, versus waiting months in the community to get the same services.B次元官网网址�
A nurse for 42 years, Holton said her hardest experience previously was during the heat dome in 2021, but not anymore.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 even worse as far as the congestion thatB次元官网网址檚 there and people are coming in sicker and sicker and that is daunting.B次元官网网址�
However, she said having physicians calling out these issues publicly is helping.
B次元官网网址淭hey have their own impact onto their own group, but then it also exemplifies what the nurses have been saying all along.B次元官网网址�
BCNU vice-president Adriane Gear said that it feels the province is on the cusp of going in the right direction, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 change the current reality.
B次元官网网址淚t doesnB次元官网网址檛 make the 18-hour shift any better for the nurse working at Surrey Memorial emergency department. It doesnB次元官网网址檛 make it better for each of the 10 patients one nurse is responsible for caring for at the Victoria General Hospital when they ought to have four,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址滻t doesnB次元官网网址檛 make it better for the long-term care nurses who are responsible for all the residents in that facility on a nightly shift. And it doesnB次元官网网址檛 address the workloads and difficult decisions community nurses must make each day as to which of their clients will be seen and which ones will have to be deferred again and again.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址� With a file from Anna Burns
lauren.collins@blackpress.ca
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