Key Takeaways:
- According to SUN, patients are being treated in hospital waiting rooms and common spaces, which results in a lack of privacy and inadequate care.
- Seven out of ten nurses, according to Zambory, are overwhelmed, worn out, frustrated, and unsupported, leading many to leave the profession.
The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) is astonished and disturbed to see that patients are being treated in hospital waiting rooms and common areas, resulting in a lack of privacy and poor care.
“It’s quite evident that we’ve lost our path here,” said Tracy Zambory, president of the SUN. “We need to be talking about how our emergency departments across the province are in crisis.”
St. Paul’s Hospital, Royal University Hospital, and, to a lesser extent, City Hospital are all experiencing capacity challenges, according to Zambory.
She claimed that Pasqua Hospital and General Hospital in Regina are also affected.
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It’s for a “myriad” of reasons, according to Zambory, with COVID playing a key part.
“When there’s this much pressure, there’s a fairly strong possibility that individuals are being discharged earlier than they should be because there’s so much need to get them out of the emergency room to just get rid of this bottleneck,” she explained.
According to Zambory, seven out of ten nurses are overwhelmed, worn out, frustrated, and unsupported, which leads them to abandon the profession.
Zambory expressed concern about the impact on less experienced nurses.
“More junior employees are being placed in roles that make them fearful that they will not be able to give safe patient care and that they will not have the experience to manage this pressure,” she explained.
She claims that even experienced nurses are having difficulty dealing with the problem.
Zambory wants Health Minister Paul Merriman as well as Premier Scott Moe to reinstate the mask requirement in indoor public spaces, restart daily case reporting, and admit that there is an issue.
Merriman acknowledged Saskatoon and other cities are facing issues while speaking to media at the Legislature on Wednesday.
“If you look at our entire healthcare system, we have 140 to 150 patients with COVID-related occurrences, and our system can handle that.” “We are challenged when all of the pressures start piling up on top of that,” he explained.
According to Merriman, there’s money in the budget to expand Regina’s ICU capacity, as well as the “high acuity beds” and urgent care centers.
He also meets with the Saskatchewan Medical Association, the College of Physicians, as well as Surgeons of Saskatchewan, and also doctors regularly, expressing his enthusiasm for frontline healthcare workers.
Source: CTV News
