BC Nurses' Union Says Nurses Mandated to Work Overtime During Holidays as Patient Volume Levels Spike

Extremely high volumes of patients over the busy holiday weekend had staff at Lions Gate Hospital and Surrey Memorial Hospital scrambling to fill nursing shifts.

BC Nurses' Union President Gayle Duteil says by the late evening of December 30, Lions Gate Hospital staff had called in at least four nurses to work mandatory shifts and multiple wards were working a shift short.

"Nurses shouldn't bear the brunt of poorly planned staffing efforts," says Duteil. "Forcing nurses to work when they are exhausted isn't good for safe patient care. Health authorities need to start being accountable for their staffing responsibilities."

Staffing shortfalls also meant Surrey Memorial Hospital's emergency room was in crisis mode over the holidays and BCNU has been notified that nurses at Fraser Canyon Hospital in Hope have worked 24 hour shifts throughout November and December.

"What we saw over the holidays was a perfect storm with Christmas and the New Year landing on weekends, cold and flu season, bad weather and on top of it all, a devastating opioid crisis. Health authorities around Metro Vancouver should have been more prepared. Baseline staffing levels need to be met and respected so that we can ensure patients receive the quality of care they deserve."

Duteil adds that the demand for nurses continues to grow as Vancouver Coastal ER nurses work at the mobile medical unit in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside which has been set up to manage the ongoing opioid crisis. "While nurses are being asked to assist with the opioid crisis, we're seeing emergency rooms bursting at the seams. Patients deserve better and so do our nurses."