Sask. nurses frustrated by short-staffing, budget cuts

White nursing scrubs filled a meeting room at Prairieland Park today, as roughly 600registered nurses met to vent, and to discuss their union'snext move.

Last week, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) broke off contracttalks with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO). On Monday,the province appointed Calgary-based mediator Richard Hornung, to bring both sides back to the bargaining table.

At Hornung's request, today's meeting was closed to the public.

Frustration over short-staffing, cuts

Outside Wednesday'smeeting, some nurses expressed frustration over short-staffing and budgetcuts inside acute-care facilities over the past two years.

"I go home in tears because I've felt I haven't provided my patients the care that they deserve," saidGwen Kessler, who hasspent the past 25 years working as a RN in Saskatoon.

"I can't do it alland that's because of staffing cuts, because of poor patient ratios," she said.

Her concerns were echoed by Quincy Lamb, anacute care nurse from Saskatoon with eight years of experience.

"It's impossible to provide safe patient care and to beas thorough as you want to," said Lamb.

She noted she'shad to care for up to ten acute care patients at once. Once that happens, Lamb saidcare devolves into "the basicsof just making sure people are alive."

"That is not the health care system we should have in Canada at all," she said.

Mediator says both sides want an agreement

Hornung said he held a conference call with officials from both SUN and SAHOyesterday.

"I was quite pleased with the attitude displayed by the parties on both sides and their desire to come to an agreement," he said Wednesday afternoon.

"We've had quite productive discussions, from which I take considerable heart," he added.

Hornung said the provincial election on April 4 will have "nothing to do" with the negotiations, which maycontinue during the campaign.

"I can tell you this,the election will have absolutely nothing to do, if I have my say and I have a lot of say, on how this mediation plays out. None," said Hornung.

Nurses say patient safety at stake

Several nurses in the hallways told CBC that budget cuts and staffing shortages, as a result of LEAN-related reforms,are a far bigger concern for their patients.

"It's not pleasant to fight, but I've been through this in the '90s," Kessler said."This makes me angry and it makes me sad."

She said for her, thedispute is not aboutwages.

"I think we have the ability to tell our government they need to wake up," she said. "This is not about self-preservation, this is about staying united and this is about looking after the residents of this province."

Both sides have agreed to meet again on Friday.

SUN represents roughly 10,000 registered nurses across Saskatchewan. Its members last wenton strike in 1999.