Nurses join teams to improve hospital emergency rooms
But BCNU is opposed to the transfer of admitted patients from emergency ward hallways onto hallways on medical wards
Nurses are part of a provincial government plan to improve service for patients at hospital emergency rooms, in response to continuing problems with ER overcrowding
The plan emerged from a meeting called by the Health Ministry on Saturday (April 29), where BCNU participated along with representatives of physicians, regulatory colleges and health authorities.
This afternoon emergency departments each named one nurse and one doctor to a team to work with their health authority to develop some short term ER improvements.
A $7 million fund has been allocated for the improvements to be shared out among the hospitals designated by the government. Possible improvements can include staffing, equipment needs, patient relations in triage areas and any other ideas put forward by staff.
BCNU will provide the names of the nurses on each team to stewards when they are available, so suggestions from members can be forwarded to them.
The Minister is seeking some rapid change and the teams will report back to the deputy minister throughout the month. A meeting will be held May 26 to review progress.
BCNU does not support suggestions from some ER physicians that a solution lies in transferring admitted patients from emergency ward hallways onto hallways on medical wards.
Contrary to these ER physicians' statements, hospital medical wards do not have "fixed nurse-to patient ratios." In fact, as a recent survey confirms, nurses on these wards are frequently required to care for patients in numbers that threaten their ability to provide safe patient care. Hospitals will be courting disaster if they add to the burden of caring for too many patients by requiring nurses to look after patients in hallways, where basic equipment such as oxygen, suction or call bells are not readily available.
Comprehensive solutions to emergency room overcrowding do not include "hallway nursing" in either ERs or on the wards.
Hospitals covered by the government plan are Burnaby General, Children's and Women's, Royal Inland, Kelowna General, Lions Gate, MSA, Nanaimo Regional, Prince George Regional, Richmond, Royal Columbian, Royal Jubilee, St. Paul's, Surrey Memorial, Vancouver General and Victoria General.
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