'It's frustrating, it's hurtful, it's disrespectful': Manitoba nurses rally to raise awareness about critical shortage
For nearly forty years, Kim Fraser worked as a paediatric nurse in Manitoba.
Fraser didn’t have immediate plans for retirement, until she hit a wall last November after working long hours and being denied personal protective equipment (PPE) while on shift.
"I was denied PPE on my point of care risk assessment and that was my final straw,” said Fraser, sitting on the steps of the Manitoba Legislature on Friday for a rally meant to raise awareness on the nursing staff shortage facing Manitoba.
“Had COVID not happened, I probably would still be working,” said Fraser, “But my life and my sanity and my self-preservation was worth it for me to retire.”
The rally was organized by the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU), with retired and active nurses brandishing a sign saying, “Without a nurse, a hospital bed is just a bed."
Organizers said the rally also functioned as a call to action for the province as nurses are stretched thin and some, like Fraser, are leaving the profession entirely.
“We are in a critical nursing shortage," said MNU President Darlene Jackson. "We can’t afford to lose another nurse in this system."
Nurses in Manitoba have been working without a contract for over five years, said Jackson, contributing to ongoing work-life imbalances that are affecting the recruitment and retention of nursing staff.
Jackson said recent efforts to improve staffing levels, specifically a $6 pay premium recently granted to ER nurses, haven’t improved the situation.
“Now we’re seeing nurses move from other areas of the system into ERs, which leaves gaping holes behind them,” said Jackson.
The MNU also sent letters to both candidates in the PC leadership race, Heather Stefanson and Shelly Glover, asking for their commitment in helping nurses if elected premier.
A spokesperson for Heather Stefanson’s leadership team said Stefanson would sign the document. CTV News did not hear back from Shelly Glover’s leadership team.
Christina Woodcock, a nurse currently working in Brandon, participated in Friday’s rally. She said normally there’s a one-to-one ratio for ICU nurse and patients, but that’s not the case right now.
“We’re now doubling patients up because resources are limited and patients are abundant,” said Woodcock.
“If the fourth wave is anything like what’s happening in our neighbouring provinces, I have great trepidation for what that is going to be like for nurses on the frontline,” said Woodcock
Marnie Houston, who needed to go to the Saint Boniface Hospital emergency room on Monday, said she experienced first-hand what current nurse staffing levels means for patients.
“Being as stressed as they are and being as few as they need to be right now, they can’t provide that level of service that we were used to seeing,” said Houston, who describes hearing intercom announcements asking nursing staff to pick up extra shifts.
“I didn’t get that support that I needed,” said Houston, “The nurses don’t have time – they really don’t. That’s the scary part because I know the nurses are there because they care.”
In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for Shared Health Manitoba said “system and clinical leaders have spent much of the summer preparing for the pandemic’s fourth wave” and “intensive bargaining negotiations (with the MNU) are continuing.”
“General wage increases,” the statement read, “along with further measures to support recruitment and retention and improved work/life balance, have been advanced and progress continues.”
Fraser, however, is still concerned for the safety of her former colleagues.
“I have so many friends that are in ICU, I have friends that have been redeployed from their jobs since November of last year with no end in sight,” said Fraser.
“It’s frustrating, it’s hurtful, it’s disrespectful.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.