Nurses available, but operating rooms at KGH remain idle
The Okanagan, Saturday, July 29, 2006
In response to The Daily Courier Managing Editor John Harding's July 26 editorial (IHA robbing  Peter to save Paul), I would like to provide a few facts and recommend a solution to the problem. 

According to a survey completed by the B.C. Nurses' Union and the B.C. Medical Association in 2004, the IHA had the capacity to increase its day operating room (OR) time by 604 hours a week.  If ORs were utilized until 9 p.m. daily, capacity could be further increased by another 1,018 hours a week.

This is the amount of time that ORs sat idle throughout the Health Authority and my understanding is that this remains the case.

Looking at Kelowna General Hospital specifically, here's what could be done:

Seven ORs sit idle during the evening shift as there is only one OR open in the evening.  There are at least four OR nurses who do not have permanent employment in the OR, so the rationale that there aren't enough nurses to expand the OR services doesn't ring true in this case.

We also know that the surgeons and anesthetist would like more OR time.

The other excuse that there are no beds to put these patients in post-operatively, can also be resolved – open the 23 beds that are closed on 3 North and Rehab.  I'm sure that if we looked a little closer, we could find additional beds that could be reopened.

There is the ability to fix the OR capacity crunch.  Now is the time for action.

Myrna Allison, RN, chair
BC Nurses' Union
OK Falls