 |
Nurses welcome new patient care review boards, but wonder if they'll get resources to do an effective job
Nurses support any initiative that gives patients and their care-givers an opportunity to expose deficiencies in the delivery of healthcare and advocate change.
But they're concerned the provincial government's "Patient Care and Quality Review Boards" announced today for each health authority may not get the resources necessary to make changes, because previous initiatives have fallen short.
"The critical question is whether the government will allocate the funds needed to ensure patients who bring complaints to these boards get action," says Debra McPherson, president of the BC Nurses' Union. "While the boards are getting the power to follow-up on complaints made against the various health authorities, those health authorities have been forced to sacrifice many good ideas to improve care, because they must follow strict budgetary mandates set out by Victoria."
McPherson says with the establishment of these review boards she worries that patients may experience the same frustrations nurses have encountered with a special process set up to address crippling workloads and improve nurses' working conditions, so they can improve the quality of care to patients.
"All too often sound, well-researched solutions nurses have proposed have run up against a brick wall of 'not enough money in the budget'. While we welcome the establishment of these new patient care review boards, I hope their recommendations don't meet the same fate."
|
 |
