“We are tired of holding up a system, some would consider broken.”
That’s from BC Nurses Union President Adriane Gear after contract talks broke off with the Health Employers Association yesterday (Monday).
Gear told Vista Radio with 4,500 vacant nursing positions in the province, more needs to be done to beef up the staffing numbers.
“And when we look at the government’s own market outlook, projections, they need to make sure that there is about 33-thousand more nurses by 2035.”
“There is certainly some frustration and disappointment with the employer that they don’t share the same priorities as we do as it pertains to health and safety for example.”
The problem is being further exacerbated as educational institutions like Vancouver Community College are cutting opportunities for students who want to enter the field.
“They have actually cancelled an intake of BSM students due to funding shortfalls. That’s crazy. We are so short nurses, our system needs more of them and yet these decisions are being made because there is a funding shortfall.”
Gear added the union will now get set for a strike vote as benefits remain the outstanding issue after eight months of negotiations.
“We acknowledge there has been an offer of a general wage increase that has been made to all public sector unions that were at the bargaining table. In addition to that, there have been additional monies offered to some groups but not all.”
Simply put, the nurses who do remain on the front lines are taxed out due to the increased demands of the job.
“Our injury rates have gone up about 25% since 2019 and psychological injuries have tripled since that time. There is a lots of ways of looking at what type of improvements we would like to see made.”
In May of 2023, a rally was held outside of University Hospital in Prince George after reports of being at 125% capacity. Roughly 60 nurses, students, hospital workers, union members, and other supporters gathered on the corner of 15th Avenue, protesting and raising awareness of the healthcare “crisis” unfolding in Northern Health.
Gear who made the trip to the northern capital three years ago, noted the nursing shortage is often worse in smaller communities in our region including Chetwynd, Mackenzie, Dawson Creek, Fort St. James, and others often going on diversion – where they are forced to redirect new and emergency patients to other hospitals.
A month prior to that (April 2023), B.C. became the first province to implement patient-to-nurse-ratios. Ratios were slated to be one-to-one for critical care patients, one nurse for every two mental health patients, one-to-three for specialized care patients, and four-to-one for palliative care patients.
The government was projected to spend $750 million over three years to help implement the model.
Its 55-thousand members work in acute care facilities, care homes and the community.
