100 Nurses Demand Island Health Fix Care Model Problems

November 27, 2014

BCNU says safe patient care continues to be compromised by a flawed care model

More than one hundred nurses demanded better, safer care for patients in Nanaimo and Victoria hospitals at Island Health's board meeting Thursday.

"Island Health admitted it made mistakes in Nanaimo months ago, but the problems still exist," said BC Nurses' Union President Gayle Duteil. "Patients aren't receiving safe care and some nurses aren't meeting their professional standards of care, because their patient load has doubled."

In Victoria, on medical units where the new care model is causing the most problems, nurses are telling BCNU:

"It's horrible there right now. I don't feel like I'm coping."
"Everyone is miserable. I feel utterly overwhelmed."
"Communications break down every change of shift. It's chaos"

BCNU South Islands Co-chair Adriane Gear asked the Island Health board, "Would you want your family member or loved one going to a hospital where nurses report chaos"

Island Health has said that there is no evidence of problems. In response to this claim, Gear explained that one of the reasons more than one hundred nurses were at today's meeting was to tell Island Health that there are in fact problems. "Nurses are reporting serious incidents, but are rarely made aware of any follow up or corrective action. Nurses are not confident Island Health exercises due diligence or transparency when it comes to investigating circumstances that contribute to negative patient outcomes."

The nurses presented the board with thousands of petitions demanding an independent expert review of the care model. More than 25,000 people have now signed the petition.