A month after the United Nurses of Alberta filed a grievance saying there was a staffing crisis at the Red Deer Regional Hospital’s Emergency Department, they say no new registered nurses have been hired.
Alberta Health Services responded by saying they have plans to hire part-time relief positions shortly.
In a Tuesday morning release, David Harrigan, UNA labour relations director said a total of 368 hours of overtime and additional shifts were worked to meet the staffing demands of the hospital’s emergency department.
A statement from AHS said they are in the process of filling 12 registered nurse vacancies and have plans to post for 15 new part-time relief positions in the coming days.
“The emergency department at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre is experiencing pressures due to staffing challenges and patient demand; however the department is fully operational. Patients in need of emergency medical care continue to receive it, 24 hours a day,” reads the statement.
On July 6, more than 90 hours of overtime and additional shifts were worked; on July 7, more than 126 hours of overtime and additional shifts were worked and on July 8, more than 152 hours of overtime and additional shifts were worked.
“We have also called upon nurses for additional shifts and overtime, but we recognize that this is not a long-term solution,” reads the AHS statement. “We are committed to exploring every option to address staffing challenges for the benefit of our patients and staff. We acknowledge the concerns of our staff and are providing enhanced supports to help manage stress and fatigue.”
Harrigan said not a single vacancy for emergency room registered nurses is posted on the Alberta Health Services website.
The UNA requested an arbitrator be appointed to resolve their June 19 grievance calling for the equivalent of 27 full time new registered nurse hires.
“At the end of the June 28 meeting, we believed we had an understanding that AHS would immediately post some of the positions that are needed,” said Harrigan. “We were pleased and believed the problem had been significantly reduced.
“However, since then, with no jobs posted, the problems in the department have continued, including heavy reliance on RNs working overtime. AHS needs to live up to its commitment and immediately start hiring nurses to ease the staffing crisis in Red Deer, as promised. Spending additional taxpayers’ dollars on an arbitration is ridiculous.”
mcrawford@reddeeradvocate.com
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