The opinion stated in the letter to the Editor entitled Job freeze will worsen nursing shortage in the future echoes the concern of a great many registered nurses who have voiced to the Canadian Nurses Association their distress regarding Alberta’s recent cuts to nursing.
While we understand that the country is facing economic challenges, health human resources strategies such as mandatory overtime, substitution of health care professionals by lesser-skilled workers and increasing workloads endanger patients’ lives.
Research shows that approaches such as these have proven time and again to be more costly in the long run.
The current economic climate is therefore an opportune time to capitalize on the cost-effectiveness of investing in appropriate registered nursing care.
The Canadian Nurses Association stands behind registered nurses from Alberta and other parts of the country who are questioning this sudden change in direction.
In the face of predictions for a particularly severe fall flu season, provinces should not be cutting back but rather increasing their pool of RNs. We sincerely urge the Alberta government to re-think its strategy and make patient safety its top priority.
Kaaren Neufeld
President,
Canadian Nurses
Association
Ottawa