Nurses at Manitoba’s largest hospital say they are so overwhelmed they just can’t keep tabs on everyone.
A spokesman for Shared Health Manitoba said an initial review of the circumstances surrounding the event is underway.
Although data protection law prevents us from discussing the details of a patient’s case, we can confirm that we are investigating a potentially critical incident that took place for an hour on February 27th in this hospital’s emergency room
he says via email.
Manitoba Nurses Union President Darlene Jackson says this is disturbing news. but not unexpected either
.
I’ve been hearing from ER nurses for some time that they fear such incidents simply because of the working conditions and lack of staff to monitor patients
She adds.
” I offer my condolences to the family for what happened. It’s a shame our healthcare system has fallen into disrepair. »
Darlene Jackson recalls that too often ER staff deal with patients who should be housed, changed, fed, and cared for in a hospital ward rather than in the ER corridors where they occupy a bed. Nurses then rush around to respond to both patients in need of urgent care and those waiting for a bed in a ward.
What happens is these patients come in, they’re sick, they need to be admitted, and there’s no place to put them. So they end up in the emergency room, which of course clogs up the waiting room.
explains Darlene Jackson.
Caregivers try to move sicker patients closer together where they can monitor them and more stable patients to other areas, but that’s not always possible.
Some patients remain seated [aux urgences] for 12 to 15 hours
says Darlene Jackson.
The situation is the same at all hospitals in Winnipeg, she said.
You won’t find an ER in this city that doesn’t have patients in the hallways right now. This is currently a reality of our healthcare system and shows the shortage of nurses
She says.
With information from Darren Bernhardt
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