Sask. nurses, supporters rally in front of legislature calling for action on staffing shortages, overcrowding
Hundreds of Saskatchewan nurses and their supporters rallied outside the legislative building on Thursday calling for action to ongoing staffing shortages and hospital overcrowding around the province.
According to a September survey referenced by the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN), 86 per cent of registered nurses are reporting patient risk due to staff shortages. The survey also found that 60 per cent of registered nurses have considered leaving the profession in the last 12 months.
“It’s a perfect storm for a catastrophe in the making,” SUN president Tracy Zambory said in a news release. “I hear from SUN members lamenting their career choice almost daily, describing their severe moral distress from being unable to provide the safe care patients need or saying they’ve never wanted to leave the profession more.”
(JasonDelesoy/CTVNews)
The union has called for greater frontline engagement aimed at nurse retention and recruitment for the past two years.
Zambory said it’s not uncommon to see beds lining hospital hallways and critical care happening in waiting room chairs due to ongoing overcapacity issues.
According to Zambory, emergency rooms are routinely 200 per cent over capacity. SUN data also indicated that the emergency room at Saskatoon's Royal University Hospital reached 350 per cent capacity on Tuesday night.
“It’s not only big city emergencies; patients are suffering everywhere – postponed surgeries, excessive and stressful waits for lifesaving diagnostics and treatments, and widespread rural service disruptions,” she said in the release.
(JasonDelesoy/CTVNews) SUN represents 11,000 Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, and Nurse Practitioners in the province.
--More to come.
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