Editor:
Re: Fraser Health clarifies ER staffing (Optimist, Aug. 7).
In the article, Fraser Health clarifies ER staffing the health authority has painted a prettier picture than what nurses and patients are experiencing.
The creation of the telemetry unit for patients with cardiac needs certainly indicates some foresight and planning on behalf of the health authority, however they have fallen short in resolving related nurse understaffing issues. This impacts the quality of patient care.
The creation of a geriatric emergency nurse position is much-needed and will go a long way to support the elderly patients admitted into the emergency department (ED).
Unfortunately the reality is that a geriatric ER nurse has not yet been hired. In fact, interviews have not even begun. This has left the ED short staffed because when the telemetry unit was created Fraser Health also removed one 24-7 specialty trained ED registered nurse (RN) from the staffing mix on day and night shifts.
Secondly, the fact that Fraser Health has increased the hours of the nurse who is a specialist in dealing with IVs for patients is welcomed but even with a fifth day added, regrettably the service is unavailable on weekends. This can result in an overflow of patients who come to the ED for the treatment, which creates further backlog while operating understaffed.
Thirdly, providing basic telemetry training for “a total of 20 nurses” is a worthwhile investment but is not enough training support for nurses to provide this ongoing specialized care, so that patients with severe afflictions do not have to be transferred back to the ED.
An immediate solution to the chronic understaffing at the Delta Hospital ED would be for Fraser Health management to restore, at minimum, the previous staffing mix that includes enough specialty RNs.
Delta Hospital is a much valued community asset that residents have supported for decades. Nurses simply want to ensure that this community hospital provides quality patient care according to the professional standards that the community has come to expect since the hospital opened in 1977.
Christine Sorensen
President, BC Nurses’ Union
