Sask. nurses' union says survey results paint grim picture of the state of health care
Saskatchewan Union of Nurses president Tracy Zambori says results of a survey conducted in March show registered nurses are finding working conditions difficult. They say patient care is being adversely affected. There’s near misses in the system that patients aren’t getting the care they require, that people are considering leaving the profession. Nothing has changed. In fact, it’s only getting worse. So it really is, you know, it really is a very damning. Report on the state of healthcare in this province. Coming from the frontline people who actually do the job, Zamboree says 85% of members say patients were put at risk due to short staffing in the past year. She says 58% say they’ve thought about leaving nursing in the past 12 months. And she says nurses are working more overtime than ever. And she says travel nurses cost could reach 70 million this year. Overtime hours are are double pay. So the amount of money that we are spending on overtime, if you add it together with overtime and you add it together with agency nurses. We are burning money in this province in absolutely the wrong place. Somebody says Sun would like the province to create a retention bonus of $10,000 for middle to late career nurses and to bring back paid mentorship. She also wants a serious audience with the health minister and decision makers in the SHA. Minister of Health Everett Henley was not able to respond to our request by our deadline, but he has said in the past the reliance on out of province contract nurses is temporary. Adam Hunter, CBC News, Regina.