Nanaimo nurses forced to take bodies to the morgue and clean bedpan washers, under Island Health's new 'care model'

July 17, 2014

Belies Island Health's claim nurses would be freed up from non-nursing duties

The BC Nurses' Union says a new care delivery model redesign or CDMR is taking nurses away from the bedside at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital and forcing them to do more non-nursing duties.

"Island Health has repeatedly stated that CDMR would release nurses from doing tasks like bathing and cleaning and make greater use of their professional skills," says BCNU President Debra McPherson.

"Instead, nurses are now required to take dead bodies to the morgue and clean bedpan washers, which takes them off the unit and away from the patients they're supposed to be caring for."

BCNU has frequently warned Island Health of the risks to safe patient care. Since CDMR was launched last September, nurses have been struggling with double the patient load and it's having a profound impact on the quality of their care. The addition of non-nursing duties is causing even more havoc.

Portering the dead is just one example of non-nursing duties, there are many others, including:

Infection control aides have been cut, so nurses and care aides must clean and maintain bedpan washers, stock hand sanitizers and infection control carts.
Porters no longer do equipment transport or patient transfers, so nurses must go searching for stretchers/wheelchairs/beds for patients.
Pharmacy used to sort all unused medications; now nurses are required do it.

These duties take nurses away from the direct, bedside care of very sick patients. "Safe patient care is being decimated under this new model, says BCNU Pacific Rim Chair Jo Salken.

"Nurses are doing the best they can, but patient care is suffering."

For information contact:
Jo Salken, BCNU Pacfic Rim chair: 250-713-7066
Catherine Pope, BCNU Communications Officer: 604-313-7412 or cpope@bcnu.org