Nurses are leaving BC’s Childrens and Women’s hospitals in droves according to the union.
BC Nurses Union President Deb McPherson says a number of concerns expressed for years by nurses at the hospitals are being ignored.
“We decided that maybe we needed to shine a little spotlight on what used to be the beacon of good employer relations in this province and has now become the least employer of choice. Nurses are flocking out of there because they do not get the respect and the hearing that they deserve and all they want is to be able to deliver safe care to those babies and those moms.”
McPherson says scheduling is a big problem with nurses getting burnt out from working to much overtime or working while sick.
“In the labour and delivery at Women’s we have lost 12 nurses since September of last year which was just after the independent report was tabled and none of its recomendations implemented to date and in the pediatric intensive care unit 19 nurses in the last six months. That is a problem.”
McPherson says concerns expressed by the nurses are being ignored.
“It is about really listening to nurses and giving them a role in health policy participating in decisions about their working conditions. That the front line nurses should have a say in how much staff is on that unit based on how sick the people are and how nursing care they need and who is working that day and they should have a say not some manager who is not on the unit and comes from another site.”
McPherson says nurses have clearly communicated their concerns
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