BCNU responds to nursing shortage in Northern B.C.

BURNABY, B.C. – The BC Nurses’ Union is urging the government to do more to manage the staffing crisis among nurses in Northern B.C.

In the statement, the BCNU mentions how they’ve been “sounding the alarm” regarding shortages across the province for many years.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a physical and mental toll on nurses across the province, leaving them exhausted and at their breaking point, said the union.

“We are extremely concerned about the deteriorating working conditions in health care settings across northern BC, where nurse retention has been a systemic problem for many years,” said the BCNU in a release on October 1st.

“It is deeply troubling to see staffing levels which were already at critical lows across the region struggle as hospitalization numbers continue to climb in this fourth wave.”

For the short term, the BCNU recommends hiring additional supports to carry out non-nursing duties so that nurses can spend time on safe patient care and having senior nurses available to support the new nurses.

“Government data shows that the province will need upwards of 24,000 nurses to staff the health care system by 2029. An emergency plan, like we’ve seen implemented in other parts of the country to manage nurse shortages elsewhere, must be developed to provide solutions and support for nurses working in the north, and across the entire health care system.”