SCEO denies care crisis

From page Y

a confidential Nov, 21) fetter
to Bert Bovd.
Boyd is part ofa three-man
‘ consultation committce trying
to bridge the considerable yap
between) doctors and the
North Shore Health Region
board and its CEQ, Inge
Schamborzki.
Schamborzki

7

called
sof diver-
ring. ““Tr’s
not true,” she said. “There is
absolutely no reason why peo-
ple should have any concern
about going to the emergency
om for any kind of health
are.”
— Continued Richards” let-
ter: “We have already closed
emergency beds during this
raditionally = busy time
“because of the lack of avail-
ability of trained emergency
nurses.”
According to Richards” let-
ter, the hospital's emergency
‘department fas lost 15) full-
Gime and eight casual nurses
<since June 1996.
m. . Vacated positions are being
* filled by temporary transfers
Sof nurses from other areas of
< the hospital, but those nurses
are. not experienced in the
type of nursing required, said
Richards.

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Those nurses, uncomfort-
able in’ their newly dratted
roles, are calling in sick or
refusing to answer the call to
come in, wrote Richards.

Ward clerks are forced: to
ask nurses who are currently
present on the ward if they
can work overtine or Zo to
work the nest day, even if itis
their day off.

“This leads to further
fatigue and more reluctance
to be available,” continued
Richards. “There is a snowball
effect anil the nurses who
had made themselves available
either report in sick or quit.”

He said many senior nurses
have quit for other hospitals
where the more is better,
leaving nurses with little or no
experience to manage acutely
ill people on their own.

Hospital staff are loathe to
air the = $100-million-a-year
institution's dirty laundry in
public. But a hospital source,
who asked not to be identified
because of the fear of jab loss,
agreed burn out and over-
work are contributing, to nurs-
es calling in sick.

“Unless you have cnough
stu¥, vou overwork the ones
that are here, they will get
burnt out and they will get
sick,” said the source.

The hospital staff member

has been at Lions Gate for

more than a decade and never
seen nursing absences as high
as they are now,

Rut Schamborzki denied
most Gf what was in Richards’
letter.
leaving the hospital shaw they
are leaving for better opportu-
nities, not because of low
morale at Lions Gate, she said.

Schamborzki denied that
emergency department beds
have been closed due to a lack
of trained nurses or nursing
shortages.

“There is no instance of

aw disruption to patient vate
in emergency as a result of
nurse staffing,” she said.

Schamborzki said the hos-
pital has 38 to 40° full-time
staff in emergency and. there
are currently four full-time
vacancies — 2 typical number.
Since fune there have been
three full-ime resignations
and the reductions in castial
nurses stem from the face thev
were ona list, they often
weren't able to work when
called to work, and so were
struck from the casual list, she
said.

In response to Richards’
estimate that 15 full-time
nurses have left since June,
Schamborzki said she very
much doubts that.

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Interviews with staff

“Quite frankly Dr.
Richards, with all due respect,
is not knowledgeable to talk
about nursing staffing.”

She added that where
there are staffing shortages -
such as in emergency — aurs-
my, medical and admuinistra-
tive staff have been meeting to
address and resolve those con-
cerns.

Richards’ remarks about
possible refacation of patients
also hit ao nerve with
Schamborzki.

“Cerrainly there are issues
in the emergency room as
there are in other units bur to
suggest that there is a crisis
there thar will resule in
patients being diverted is out-

Sunday, C December 7. 1997 =.

ragcous.”

Schamborzki said sick leave
has been reviewed back to
1990. It has nor changed in
seven vears and runs at about
10 days per full-time nurse per
year. That was true as of the
end of August this vear, she
said.

Richards said the sick-leave
upswing has been more recent
than August, but Schamborzki
said statistics from the four-
week period Richards is talk-
ing about are nor vet available.

Richards said She received
his information through staff
reports that) cannot be
released.

He agreed the hospital's
problems are nor affecting the
patients getting operating-
room time, bur “it’s stretch-
ing the hospital’s resources to
the limit.”

Meanwhile, there is a turf

- North Shore News— A3.

raboarre

war going on in the region.
Richards said that the regional
board and administration are
trving to give the hospiral a
lower profile in the region.
“That's our major problem,”
he said, point ing to the results
ofa recent region survey that
asked people what makes
them healthy.

According to the region,
the top 10 answers included
maintaining green space,
alternative means of transit,
and more community action
“to help us value the diversity
of North Shore residents of all
ages, cultures and abilities.”

Richards noted there was
nothing about che hospital,
which gobbles up 62% of the
region's $160-mallion budget.

“Schamborzki said she
doesn’t see the role of the
hospital diminishing in’ the
future.

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