Staffing shortages threaten closure of ICU beds in two busy hospitals across the province

Despite a busy summer season when demands for emergency services can reach critical levels, residents in two BC communities are facing significant cuts to Intensive Care Units at their local hospitals.

In Fort St. John, staffing levels are so stretched that The Northern Health Authority is scrambling to keep the ICU at Fort St. John Hospital open over the weekend. In New Westminster, two ICU beds at Royal Columbian Hospital will close until September 30th, due to a lack of trained specialty nurses who are able to backfill shifts.

"Considering the need across the province for ICU beds due to summer accidents and other seasonal incidents, I don't think that closing ICU beds is a good idea," says BCNU vice president, Christine Sorensen. "BCNU is looking forward to working with health authorities, like Northern Health in this case, to address the lack of specialty training and staffing in BC's north."

The pressure on Fort St. John's ICU this weekend is an indication of the ongoing struggle for improved rural health care services in northern BC and the uncertainty health authorities are up against when it comes to safe staffing. "Safe care for rural communities needs to be addressed," says Sorensen. "Just recently, a man suffering from a heart attack died in part by lack of access to emergency care and ambulance services in Haida Gwaii."

However, the shortage of critical care nurses is a concern throughout our province. "When we hear this week that ICUs in both Fort St. John and New Westminster are under this kind of pressure - and faced with the decision to close beds, nurses know that level of quality healthcare our patients deserve is being reduced. Nurses need access to specialty training to ensure staffing levels are met."