Nurses urge parties to strengthen platforms on healthcare

They're prepared to work with whatever party forms the next government to help address healthcare needs and put some of their ideas into effect.

"BC currently has the fewest number of nurses for the size of population of any province or territory in the country," says Debra McPherson, president of the BC Nurses' Union. "Yet with more nurses we could do so much more to address many of the critical problems facing people seeking care from the system."

For example, if they were enabled to work to their full scopes of nursing practice, registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and licensed practical nurses could play critical roles in helping citizens with chronic illnesses manage their conditions while staying in their own homes.

To address the shortage of physicians in rural communities, Advanced Practice Nurses (such as diabetic nurse educators) and Nurse Practitioners could play wider roles, including diagnosing and prescribing pharmaceuticals, as specially-trained nurses do in Britain.

McPherson says nurses welcome the positive ideas for improving home and community care and care for seniors contained in the NDP platform. They also welcome the NDP's commitment to restore funding to the Therapeutics Initiative that reviews the effectiveness and safety of new pharmaceutical products.

They also welcome promises in the BC Liberal platform to "improve the scope of practice for nurse-practitioners and reduce wait times for qualified nurses who are landed immigrants."

"When she spoke to our convention last month the Health Minister promised to keep the government's contract commitment to hire more than 2,000 more nurses by 2016. But there is no reference to the promise in the Liberal platform, or to the promise to ensure patients are protected by replacing nurses with other nurses when they are away from scheduled shifts in hospitals and residential care," McPherson says. However, the Liberals do deserve credit for signing Bill 18 which enables Licensed Practical Nurses to move into the same bargaining structure as other nurses, after they voted decisively to join BCNU.

McPherson says using nurses "to the fullest extent of their knowledge and practice" is critical to maximizing effectiveness and containing costs in primary healthcare and in the management of chronic diseases. (See Nurses' platform for election other side).

Nurses' election platform

KEEP THE PROMISE to hire 2,125 more nurses by 2016.

Ensure nurses are replaced or added as patients require

• Respect the professional judgment of nurses to know what's best for patients in consultation with our managers
• Provide health authorities with the funding they need to ensure safe patient care through safe staffing

KEEP THE PROMISE to listen to BC's nurses

• Appoint experienced nurses to top level nursing positions at the health authorities and Ministry of Health to ensure nurses have input into health policy
• Respect and confirm the overwhelming democratic choice of LPNs for a professional nurses' union and for representation at the professional nurses' bargaining table

KEEP THE PROMISE to fix front-line primary healthcare care

• Develop more multidisciplinary healthcare teams and not-for-profit clinics where nurses work collaboratively with doctors, physiotherapists and other providers
• Ensure all nurses can work to their full scopes of practice - RNs and LPNs alike. Provide Advanced Practice Nurses (such as diabetic nurse educators) and Nurse Practitioners with the opportunities to fully utilize their skills

KEEP THE PROMISE to improve care for BC's seniors

• Implement the Ombudsperson's recommendations on seniors' care
• Ensure clear, measurable and enforceable staffing standards in residential care
• Provide proper funding for home support to help seniors maintain their independence
• Guarantee the resources and independence required for an effective BC Seniors' Advocate

KEEP THE PROMISE to reduce poverty in BC

• Address the social determinants of health through:
• affordable housing
• $10-a-day childcare
• a clean environment
• regular increases in the minimum wage
• improved income supports and programs for the most vulnerable citizens in our province

KEEP THE PROMISE of public healthcare for all

• Push the federal government for a negotiated 2014 Health Funding Accord to help establish a national pharmacare program and national standards for home and community care
• Uphold the BC Medicare Protection Act by reducing the flow of public tax dollars into private for-profit clinics and services