The Registered Nurses Union is alerting political candidates in the upcoming election to be ready to present a “real plan” for recruitment, retention and safe staffing once the next government is formed.

Yvette Coffey’s President’s Tour made a stop in Gander yesterday.

She says nurses are demanding change about what they call unsafe staffing levels, excessive workloads, denied leave, and forced overtime.

Coffey says she’s hearing the same concerns on every stop of her tour.

“In those rural zones they’re doing environmental services, they’re doing dietary, they’re doing labs, they’re covering emergency departments, they’re seeing upwards of 50 patients a day, and they’re it. No support.” says Coffey. She recounted a meeting she was having with nurses who were off-duty who sprang into action when an emergency as called, “because they knew there was only two registered nurses in the entire building.”

She says with a provincial election imminent, she hopes whoever forms government will be ready to act.