Northern Health nurses from Prince George and northern BC rallied in Vancouver Friday, Jan. 24 to draw attention to what they call "critical issues" affecting nurses across the province.
“The mood was high-energy,” said Dannete Thomsen, a local representative from the BC Nurses Union. “Nurses were very excited to be out there and demonstrating that things need to change. Staffing needs to be improved, and issues that we've been bringing forward for years need to be addressed. I am absolutely so proud to represent the nurses from the north … Our nurses just do so much with so little, all the time.”
About 150 northern nurses took part.
The rally, which included speeches, took place after a two-day regional bargaining conference organized by BCNU in Vancouver. The conference was planned to address the issues plaguing nurses working at Northern Health. This conference itself is taking place ahead of the Nurses’ Bargaining Association contract negotiations set to begin this year.
Northern Health nurses are sharing concerns over a lack of resources and staffing, as well as hospitals being constantly over capacity.
“Short-staffing is huge, whether it's long-term care community or acute care," said Thomsen. "Currently, our ER doesn't even have a quarter of the positions built in Prince George. So nurses are trying to pick up extra shifts, to help out their colleagues and they're exhausted. The other thing that we're facing currently is over-capacity. That's been going on for a long time too. So there are more patients in the hospital than we have beds or rooms for."
Another concern of the nurses is hiring. They say there are too many vacant positions in hospitals, including in the UHNBC emergency room.
Thomsen also addressed concerns nurses have been having over safety in their hospitals.
“It's not news to anybody that the world seems to be more violent,” said Thomsen. “We see that reflected inside hospitals as well. Patients are having outbreaks of violence, we've had patients with weapons … As patients sit there sometimes they are in pain, sometimes they are impatient, and then anger grows and unfortunately that's taken out on our front line.”
BCNU President Adriane Gear stated in a press release that it's time for health employers to understand that BC’s nurses are going to hold them accountable.
“From the fishing villages of Haida Gwaii to Dawson Creek and all the communities in between, nurses who live and work in northern BC are determined to make health care better for patients and the communities they care for," she stated.
