Nurses' Union Concerned

The dedicated nursing staff at Vernon Jubilee Hospital are deeply concerned about the patient safety crisis that has been unfolding in BC’s growing North Okanagan. 

A shortage of hospitalist physicians responsible for overseeing the care of admitted patients is having a direct impact on the facility’s emergency department (ED). Without enough hospitalists, patients are left to wait in the crowded emergency room (ER), spilling into hallways that were never designed for patient care, with no curtains, call bells, access to oxygen therapy, emergency alert buttons or bathrooms. 

Our members report that, on some days, 20 to 40 admitted patients are left without an assigned physician. As a result, registered nurses are tasked with coordinating care beyond their professional scope of practice, with many reporting that they are being stretched beyond safe limits, are experiencing moral distress and burnout as they watch patient care suffer.

Simply put, the situation in Vernon’s emergency department is unsafe, unsustainable, and entirely preventable. 

This is not an isolated issue. Vernon is a fast-growing community and a regional hub, absorbing diverted patients from smaller communities such as Salmon Arm, where hospitals have struggled to stay open. Kelowna is the nearest alternative hospital, and when pressures mount across the region, patients and staff in Vernon feel it acutely.

Let’s be clear: nurses, and other health-care workers will continue to show up and do everything they can to treat anyone who needs emergency care. But dedication cannot compensate for chronic understaffing and a lack of coordinated action. If the health authority is willing to respect hospitalist patient caps to support safe care, the same recognition must be extended to nurses. Long-term solutions like minimum nurse-to-patient ratios – once implemented – will help ensure nurses have the capacity to provide safe, timely care while maintaining their professional standards. In emergency departments, this means having enough qualified ED nurses in place to keep patients safe while they wait to be assessed and initiate care until admitted. For patients who cannot be admitted because hospitalist caps have been reached, there must be a clear plan in place to ensure they receive appropriate ongoing care — a burden that cannot be carried by ED nurses alone.

That’s why efforts to retain and recruit health-care workers the North Okanagan needs are more urgent than ever. When investments are not made across the system—physicians, nurses, and other professionals—the entire team is impacted, and patient safety suffers. 

The conditions we are witnessing in Vernon should serve as a serious warning sign. Unsafe staffing levels put patients at risk—here and across the province. Interior Health must act now to stabilize staffing and ensure safe, coordinated care for this growing community.

Adriane Gear, President, BC Nurses’ Union