The Registered Nurses Union says it is entering the collective bargaining process in the midst of a healthcare crisis.
RNU President Yvette Coffey says research results from a recent survey commissioned by the union show the state of nursing in the province is “dire.”
According to the RNU, 88 percent of registered nurses and nurse practitioners asked said they believe understaffing has resulted in unsafe conditions for patients, while public confidence in the health care system dropped significantly.
And things could get worse says the union. 92 percent of RNU members surveyed indicated that their workload was increasing their risk of burnout and fatigue, while 88 percent agree it’s contributing to high levels of sick leave. Only 8 percent did not face violence in the workplace in a full month period.
Coffey says in her 32 years of being a registered nurse, she has never seen the conditions nurses are working through.
She says she’s never heard stories like the ones coming from the healthcare system today, and what nurses are facing every day. She says many of their members are making the “heart-wrenching” decision to walk away for their own physical and mental health.
The survey, by MQO Research was conducted over the summer.