Nurses hold large protests in Victoria and across the province

Hundreds of nurses rallied outside Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria and at hospitals in Kelowna, Vernon and Prince George to demand safe patient care.

"Island Health is trying to save money on the backs of patients," says McPherson. "Replacing 122 nurses with care aides at Royal Jubilee and Victoria General Hospitals has nurses fearing for patient safety."

The care delivery model redesign (CDMR) will be implemented in Victoria in January 2014.

It was first used in October, when 26 nurses at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital were replaced by care aides.

McPherson says it's already having a profound impact on patient care. "Nurse patient ratios have doubled on some Nanaimo wards, patients face lengthy and sometimes dangerous delays getting their medications and nurses can't assess their patients for six or more hours after the start of their shift, which is not safe."

"Nurses aren't losing jobs, but they're being taken off the front lines and away from the bedside to supervise care aides and do more non-nursing jobs. For example, nurses in Nanaimo are now doing the work of a night porter. If someone dies, a nurse and another staff member have to leave the floor to deliver the body to the morgue."

The BCNU believes health authorities plan to roll out CDMR across the rest of the Province.

Nurses across BC are also wearing red and black in their workplaces in protest against CDMR.