The Manitoba Nurses Union has formally grey-listed another health facility in the province, saying the staffing needed for safe patient care at Seven Oaks General Hospital has not been addressed. More than 98 per cent of nurses at Seven Oaks voted in June to grey list the hospital, according to the union, which represents more than 13,000 nurses in Manitoba. Union president Darlene Jackson said the union gave the employer a list of issues that had to be resolved to avoid grey listing taking effect. Nurses at Seven Oaks had been in conversation with the employer for quite some time, she said. Jackson said in an interview Monday that “many of the cameras at Seven Oaks Hospital weren’t functioning.” “So those are now functioning, but the nurses had also asked for safe staffing to provide safe patient care, and that hasn’t been dealt with,” she said. She said nurses felt talks with the employer were “coming to a standstill, and felt it was time to enact.” The designation advises current and prospective members not to seek employment at the hospital because of “ongoing unsafe or inappropriate working conditions,” the union said. In a news release issued Friday, the union said nurses are caring for patients with increasingly complex needs, including dialysis and treatment for multiple health conditions. It said medical patients are being admitted to geriatric rehabilitation units without matching adjustments to nurse staffing, while patient numbers exceed unit capacity. Jackson said nurses are asking for another triage nurse position and want it made permanent. The union said in the release that the additional overnight triage nurse position is limited to a one-year term with no guarantee it will continue. She said nurses are also seeking better staffing and believes the issue is one of funding for employers, who would need money from the government to post and fill positions. “I would say at this point, the ball is in the government’s hands,” she said. Nurses previously voted overwhelmingly to grey list the Health Sciences Centre, Thompson General Hospital and St. Boniface Hospital. Jackson said safety issues at the Health Sciences Centre, including cameras and lighting in parkades, have been addressed. “Having a safer environment will definitely keep nurses at that facility, so it will help staffing in the long run,” she said. CTV News has reached out to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority for comment.
