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Nova Scotia nurses strike
April 1, 2014 - 7:07am
Blank.
Walking off the Job in Progress
From what information I can gather, the main issue in contention centers around RN staffing ratios vis-a-vis the number of patients and respective acuities being cared for on any given unit. Apparently there are no standards in NS as to what level units are to be staffed with RNs, The NSGEU position does make sense from a variety of perspectives, first and foremost patient safety and quality of care, but also workplace safety because of the justifiable demands of patients and their families to quality care on demand. On the other hand, the province has yet to elaborate on the justification for not including evidence based staffing levels from other jurisdictions into a provincial policy, other than fiscal related constraints that two successive governments, NDP and Liberal, appear to be holding the line on. Warship construction and Irving shipyard upgrades are quite expensive after all.
A little background info:
NSGEU - Safe Nurse to Patient Ratios
NSGEU Nurses put patient Safety First
Joan Jessome - NSGEU President
NSGEU - Why Nurse to Patient Ratios Matter
Good on them. Organized labour needs to keep opposing governmental assaults on workers' rights.