The British Columbia Nurses’ Union is sounding the alarm as its members at the East Kootenay Regional Hospital increasingly find themselves working between 115 and 133 per cent overcapacity.
The startling figures are based on acceptable ratios of nurses to patients, which fluctuate based on regional staffing shortages, the number of patients, and the nature of their care needs.
The union is meeting in Cranbrook on Thursday with nurses who are “stretched thin,” it said in a news release. Municipal leaders, MLAs and medical professionals will join them to discuss the “crisis” and brainstorm long-term solutions.
