New BCNU President rallies with nurses for safe patient care!

Gayle Duteil says one year later, patient care at Nanaimo Hospital continues to suffer, because of flawed care model.

More than 150 nurses marched through Downtown Nanaimo on Wednesday to rally against Island Health's flawed care model.

Since last September, nurses have seen patient loads double, impacting safe patient care and nurses' professional standards.

Duteil recently toured Nanaimo Hospital and met with nurses who said they live in constant fear for their patient's safety. She said she was disturbed by what she witnessed.

"I'm astounded that Island Health is still saying this new model improves care for the aging, high-acuity patients filling our hospitals today," said Duteil.

"Frontline nurses know this just isn't the case. Why? Because when 26 professional nurses are replaced with unlicensed care aides and over 48,000 hours of direct nursing care are lost, patient care will suffer."

Duteil said nurses will never accept patients not receiving the care they need and deserve.