MUHC neonatal nurses say staffing shortage puts babies at risk
Staffing shortage means fewer available beds and overworked nurses
Nurses at the neonatal intensive care unit at the McGill University Health Centre say they are drastically overworked due to staffing shortages.
The Union of Nursing and Cardio-Respiratory Professionals at the MUHC said the shortage means there aren't enough nurses to properly care for the babies.
There should be one nurse per patient in the case of extremely sick babies, with a maximum of three patients per nurse, said union president Denyse Joseph.
Instead, she said, nurses are regularly caring for three patients at a time, and up to six if a co-worker goes on a break.
"There is a higher risk on these babies. One person cannot physically and mentally be aware of everything on six little babies," Joseph said.
The union rarely received any complaints about workload from its nurses before the move to the Glen site, she said. Now, she says they receive complaints on a daily basis.
The hospital has a total of 52 intensive care beds but is only using a maximum of 45 in response to the staffing shortage.
In a statement, the hospital said it is in the process of recruiting nurses.
"This aggressive recruitment initiative has resulted in the posting of more than 20 nursing positions in the NICU, and we believe it will be completed by mid-fall," the statement reads.
Joseph said even with new recruitment, it could take six months to a year for a nurse to get up to speed.
"We aren't taking care of machines. We are taking care of babies," she said.