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By Dylana Kneeshaw

HEALTHCARE STAFFING CRISIS

BCNU taking nursing strain concerns to legislature

May 9, 2022 | 4:08 PM

KAMLOOPS — This week the BC Nurses Union (BCNU) is ramping up calls for more action to be taken to respond to widespread staffing challenges.

BCNU President Aman Grewal says the nurses union often receives reports from nurses who describe feeling overworked, experiencing violence or verbal abuse while at work, and getting overloaded with more patients than they’re supposed to provide care for.

“Staffing levels are dangerously low, our nurses are overworked, and they’re not feeling respected. They are having toxic workplaces that they work in,” says Grewal.

It’s a provincial problem, and in Kamloops specifically, Grewal says the union has heard from nurses who tell them of times where they’re working with 50 per cent staffing complements at Royal Inland Hospital, frequently staying later to cover 16 hour shifts and experiencing burnout.

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“We are hearing exactly the same thing,” she says. “And we are asking, where are the plans, the thinking ahead? You know you have these vacancies, what plans are you putting in place? How are you managing your staffing system in there? ”

In a time when recruitment has become crucial, BCNU points out that the dire working conditions are also impacting retention of current staff.

“We did a pandemic survey and 51 per cent of the nurses have said that they are considering leaving within the next two years,” explains Grewal. “It’s just taking such a toll on their mental health and on their ability to provide patient care because of their working conditions.”

To fill staffing gaps, Grewal says the union wants more seats to the opened up in nursing schools, and to also have provincial funding for LPN bridging programs. By 2031, BCNU says the province is going to need 26,000 new nurses.

“And that’s nine years away from now. So do the math there,” she notes. “You’re going to need close to 3,000 nurses coming in to the system each year.”

This week, BCNU representatives are in Victoria for a rally at the legislature to continue pressing the government for safer working conditions for nurses.

“They’ve been answering the call of the province to take care of the citizens and so now we’re calling on the government to take care of the nurses,” says Grewal.