It’s a situation that can only be called “a crisis.” That’s how Saskatchewan Union of Nurses President Tracy Zambory describes the state of nursing in the province. Zambory says SUN is dedicated to seeking solutions, and it may go as far as enabling a dedicated task force
“There is not the time, there is not the capability and there is not the staff to give safe patient care in most of our facilities in the province anymore,” she said to news outlets.
The situation in Regina has become so bad that emergency patients had to be turned away from the Regina General Hospital and be rerouted to Pasqua Hospital across town. Nurses have also brought forward complaints of increasing violence by both patients and those seeking aid.
While the provincial government has been vocal about its efforts to bring in more nurses, the Union is concerned that the crisis will worsen before it gets better. The proposed task force would gather information from frontline workers to detail the need for change and target specific ways to go about it.
Zambory notes that while recruitment is a sound strategy, it takes time, and more needs to be done to retain and support current nurses as the drain from the profession because of working conditions continues.