Around 200 nurses from Nanaimo and across Vancouver Island marched to NRGH on Thursday, calling for the provincial government to address B.C.'s strained health-care system. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

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Nov 24, 2022 | 4:11 PM

NANAIMO — Their message is simple: more nurses and better supports are needed to prevent a crumbling of B.C.’s health-care system.

Nearly 200 nurses from Nanaimo and surrounding communities marched from a nearby church to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on Thursday, Nov. 24, demanding the provincial government address the ongoing health-care crisis.

Kelley Charters, an NRGH nurse and council member with the BC Nurses’ Union told the crowd gathered on Dufferin Cres. in front of the hospital working conditions are poor.

“I’ve been a nurse for 20 years and I’ve never seen a crisis like this, the one we are facing now is unprecedented. We believe Canadians deserve good, quality health-care and that is why we are hear today to demand that from our government and our leaders.”

During a one-on-one interview with NanaimoNewsNOW, Charters said the emergency room in Nanaimo is operating without a full contingent of nurses most days.

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She said it’s getting to the point where workers can’t cope.

“Nurses are leaving the profession in droves. The pandemic didn’t help, our opioid crisis didn’t help, the demands being put on them to do longer hours, 16-hour shifts and mandatory overtime. It’s just not sustainable, they’re exhausted, they’re burnt out.”

The BC Nurses’ Union, who organized Thursday’s demonstration said NRGH is Vancouver Island’s busiest hospital with upwards of 250 patients visiting the emergency department daily.

Patient loads for nurses are among their chief concerns, with each nurse seeing upwards of 30 to 40 patients in a single shift, many of whom wait hours for care, according to Charters.

Those wait times are not only frustrating for people needing medical help, but taxing on the staff trying to provide it.

“It is a moral distress on (nurses), it really traumatizes them knowing that people are suffering, and they can’t get there to help them,” Charters said.

Nurses caried signs while rallying to and from NRGH, while numerous motorists and fellow emergency responders honked their horns while passing by.

Island Health has also seen a run of closures or changes to emergency rooms or urgent care centres in rural communities, including Chemainus, Port Hardy and Ucluelet.

Some of those patients are either re-routed, or voluntarily travel to Nanaimo for care.

Charters said they have solutions to present, but aren’t being given a voice at the provincial level.

“We want to be heard. We’re not at the table. They talk about changing health-care , they talk about how to fix health-care , and our nurses have the solutions but we’re not at the table, we’re not invited to the right rooms to make those decisions.”

BC Nurses Union vice president Adriane Gear said there has been little action from the province and demands new premier David Eby sit down and listen to the serious concerns of nurses.

“Not being able to provide essential care to sick patients is morally distressing. Island Health, minister Dix, premier Eby, is this any way to treat a healthcare hero?”

Gear said daily crushing workloads are a significant issue at NRGH, particularly for emergency room nurses.

The BC Nurses’ Union had their collective bargaining agreement with the province expire on March 31, 2022 and are working without a contract.

Negotiations on a new deal are slated to begin in early December.

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