Nurses support provincial Ombudsman's investigation into seniors' healthcare
The British Columbia Nurses' Union is encouraging nurses and other health professionals to assist the BC Ombudsman in the province-wide investigation into healthcare for senior citizens.
BCNU has developed a contact card for seniors and their care givers when they experience poor quality healthcare or problems accessing home support services. The contact card directs the public to the Ombudsman's investigation.
BC's nurses are well positioned to see when seniors cannot access quality care in residential facilities and home support services. They also see when restricted funding for community nursing has caused acute care hospital wards to be overwhelmed.
"Our members are committed to providing excellent healthcare to senior citizens," said BCNU Executive Councillor, Len Rose. "With this summer's attempted quick closure of Vancouver Island's Cowichan Lodge, we saw that health authority executives like VIHA's Howard Waldner often treat seniors as cost units rather than honoured citizens who built this province."
Rose said "the Cowichan Lodge situation is one that no BC senior citizen should experience again." Working with Cowichan families, BCNU's litigation against VIHA caused the health authority to quickly improve its treatment of Vancouver Island seniors. Because of that success, BCNU will contemplate further litigation at any appropriate point in the future.
"There are times for legal action and times for community engagement," stated Rose. "Right now BCNU believes a useful way to improve healthcare for senior citizens is to encourage wide public participation in the Ombudsman's investigation." To further assist the investigation, BCNU has requested that evidence collected during our litigation against VIHA's actions at Cowichan Lodge be delivered to the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman is an independent officer of the BC Legislature who is not responsible to any branch of government. As all information shared with the investigation is confidential, BCNU members should be confident in using the contact card to direct the public to assist the investigation.
Rose stated, "BCNU members will have the full support of their union to assist the investigation and should immediately advise their steward if any employer attempts to prohibit their participation."
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