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Nurses are not immune to addiction, so let's just put it out there: there are nurses working in health care who suffer with addictions. Some are in recovery and thriving, while others are afraid to ask for help. Nurses who ask for help have help available through BCNU. BCNU helps get them into treatment and sets up drug testing and medical monitoring to help those nurses eventually get their nursing licenses back and return to work as long as they can comply with strict regulations and random drug testing to ensure they maintain their sobriety and to protect the public. Sounds good, right?
The giant flaw in their system is that in certain health authorities, it is up to the nurses enrolled in medical monitoring to pay for it. Some health authorities do pay for the monitoring, while others, including the Interior Health Authority, do not. A lot of people would say that's a good thing IHA doesn't pay, put the money towards patient care, not towards their nurses with substance abuse problems. That's one way to look at it.
But if nurses know that they can't afford to cover the cost of their monitoring program, and it can get expensive with some companies, do you really think they are going to come forward and ask for help when they desperately need it? It wouldn't matter if you could no longer afford your childcare or child supports payments or even your mortgage. If you can't pay for monitoring, your nursing license is revoked. No more job, end of story.
So it turns into a catch 22. Nurses should not be working if they are in active addiction. It is completely unsafe. But if nurses can't afford to pay for monitoring, they are not going to come forward. Right now, for some nurses, recovery and maintaining their livelihoods is unaffordable.
Patient safety should be the top priority for the Interior Health Authority. Part of that is ensuring those who care for you or your loved ones are fit to practice. Due to the nature of their job, there should be absolutely no barriers that would deter nurses from asking for help when it comes to addiction. Until IHA changes its policy regarding nurses and addiction, there will be nurses who continue to work, trying to keep their addictions in check, simply because they can't afford the help that is offered.
Britt Edwards-Lawson
