Nursing crunch causing surgery cancellations, Eastern Health admits

The largest health authority in Newfoundland and Labrador acknowledges that an ongoing nursing shortage has led to cancellations of important surgeries, including for heart patients.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union said Monday that 17 cardiac surgeries were cancelled in January at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's, solely because not enough nurses were available.

Union president Debbie Forward said the cancellations followed a trend through 2008 at the hospital, the largest in the province.

Eastern Health officials declined an interview on the subject, but in a statement the authority said the problem continues to affect patients.

"Eastern Health acknowledges that although nursing recruitment has improved over the last few months, staffing challenges continue to exist in some of our clinical areas," the authority said.

Staffing can be affected by various factors, including patient volumes, "unanticipated staff absence" and too few relief nurses available for backfill.

"All or any one of these factors may result in increased staff overtime to meet the demand, or in limited cases, there may be cancellations or delays in surgical and other procedures," Eastern Health said.