Nurse in Lynn Lake fired for reasons outside her practice, says union

The Manitoba Nurses Union said a nurse who recently moved to work in Lynn Lake, Man., was terminated by the Northern Regional Health Authority for reasons outside of her practice. 

"We're in a situation where we need to be retaining every nurse possible in the system, so it's worrying that employers are not doing everything they can to retain nurses," said Darlene Jackson, the union's president.

Lynn Lake is a town of approximately 500 residents, located more than 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. 

Jackson said she can't disclose more details about the incident because the Manitoba Nurses Union has filed a grievance on this person's behalf and the case will be going to arbitration. 

But the nurse was following standards of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba and the termination "had nothing to do with her ability to practise," Jackson said. 

CBC requested comment from the Northern Regional Health Authority. A spokesperson says the authority does not speak to personnel issues publicly as a matter of policy. 

Jackson said the nurse who was fired had moved her family from Ontario to work as a public nurse in Manitoba. 

"She had worked some shifts in Lynn Lake and really enjoyed the hospital, and enjoyed the atmosphere in the town and moved there," Jackson said. 

Hospital closed due to lack of staff 

The termination came in the middle of a critical nursing shortage in the north, in which the health authority had to close a hospital — Leaf Rapids Health Centre — multiple times due to not having enough staff.  

Since the Leaf Rapids Health Centre closed on Dec. 27, all clinical care and support services have been directed to Lynn Lake or Thompson.

Jackson said in the midst of a pandemic, with COVID-19 cases skyrocketing, employers should be keeping nurses in the public system. 

"We need those individuals to keep facilities open," she said. "In this case, to keep facilities running at full speed."