Nurses Union President Writes

This letter was orginally sent to Vancouver Sun and Province in response to their recent coverage.

To the editor:
Reports in the newspaper and elsewhere have been quick to lay the blame for increased surgical wait lists in BC solely on health care workers.

But there are many factors at play that impact surgical wait lists. Several years ago the nursing shortage reduced the number of fully functioning operating rooms. Then the closure of beds, due to cost-cutting measures in hospitals and nursing homes, placed tremendous pressure on the health care system, resulting in longer waiting times for surgeries.

On Saturday (Every BC health centre will face ‘job action’ Sunday, union vows) you quoted Vancouver Coastal Health Authority spokesperson Clay Adams as saying that “after nurses went on strike for three months in late 2001 it took a year to deal with the backlog of elective surgeries that had been cancelled.” In actual fact, nurses simply implemented an overtime ban and the impact clearly demonstrated how under-staffed the system was at the time. And Health Services Minister Colin Hansen points out that job action in 2001 also involved doctors and paramedical professionals.

The public needs to know that health care workers are holding the over-stretched system together, trying to provide safe patient care under extremely difficult circumstances. They should not become the convenient scapegoat for the impact of government health care service cuts.

Sincerely,
BC Nurses’ Union

Debra McPherson
President