Nurses union 'grey-lists' Dauphin hospital

The Manitoba Nurses Union is advising nurses not to applyto work at the Dauphin Regional Health Centre, citing concerns about patient safety.

Union president Maureen Hancharyk says the hospital has ignored its 150 nurses' concerns about patient safety and abusive managers for over a year.

Their concerns include broken equipment,such as call lights, short-staffing and the fact the hospital is using a utility room as a three-bed emergency area.

"It's not safe," Hancharyk said. "Nurses have documented some of these concerns… and they feel the response has been inadequate."

The union is advising nurses not to apply there, even though officials at the western Manitoba facility admit they are between 30 and 40 nurses short.

"We don't do it lightly," she said. "I can tell you in our over 30-year history as a union, this is only the fifth time we have grey-listed a facility…. We need help in here."

Elective surgery should be postponed at the health centre until the situation improves, Hancharyk said.

Alan Bradley, CEO of the Parkland Regional Health Authority, told CBC News he is aware of the complaints, but change will take time.

"If the nurses are telling you and telling me there's been a longstanding concern, you can't resolve a many-year problem with a quick solution," he said.

Hospital officials are working with nurses and the union to address the problems, Bradley said.

Safety issues will be addressed immediately, he added, but admitted it will take some time to change a negative culture at the hospital.

The hospital in Dauphin, about 250 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, provides emergency, diagnostic, obstetric and oncological services, as well as long-term and palliative care to 8,000 people in Dauphin as well as residentsin the surrounding area.