Long-term care facilities understaffed, say nurses

Nova Scotia Nurses say the staffing rules for nursing homes and other residential care homes in the province are dangerously out of date.

The guidelines in use now were set in 1977.

They call for eight hours of daily nursing care in a home with fewer than 30 residents and 24 hours of nursing care for homes with more residents.

"We can have all kinds of beds open, but if we don't have the nurses to look after the residents then what's the point?" said Janet Hazelton, president of the Nova Scotia Nurses Union.

Nurses have repeatedly told her stories of unreasonable workloads, and demands that take them away from basic patient care, she said.

"Most of our facilities don't have maintenance after hours, they don't have clerical support after hours, they don't have things that we have come accustomed to," said Hazelton. "When snow has to be removed or power goes out during a storm, the nurses have to deal with those situations along with caring for the residents."

Adjustments necessary

Hazelton said the union has surveyed long term care nurses to determine what they would consider an appropriate level of staffing. But she said its an issue that will continue to grow until its addressed effectively.

"We're getting to a point where residents are getting more ill than they used to be. They're living a lot longer, and they're getting more complicated to look after."

Hazelton said the provincial government has indicated its willing to talk about possible changes in long term care facilities.

"We need to up the amount of nursing care hours that we provide to those residents. Quite frankly they deserve it."

Hazelton said this is a problem faced by long-term care facilities across the country.