Nurses sweating it out at older P.E.I. health-care facilities, union says

Some nurses working in aging health facilities on P.E.I. are dealing with hot and humid conditions, and the union that represents them says that needs to change.

The P.E.I. Nurses' Union says some provincially run health-care facilities don't have air conditioning, posing a problem not just for staff but also for patients and their visitors. 

While the Queen Elizabeth and Prince County hospitals have full air conditioning, the heat in some older buildings such as long-term care homes can make for a challenging environment. 

"Some of the older facilities that we go into, they... have fans in the hallways, so that's interfering with patient flow and visitor flow coming into a facility," said Barbara Brookins, president of the P.E.I. Nurses' Union. 

"Sometimes you can just feel the humidity coming into the building, and other times it's just so warm that everyone is just perspiring the whole day. So that takes a lot of energy, when you're hot and overheated when you're trying to do your work." 

With climate change patterns likely to produce higher average temperatures in this region in the coming years, it's a problem that shows no indication of ending.

So far this year, P.E.I. has already experienced three official heat waves that saw temperatures climb into the high 30s with the humidex, and stay there for several days at a time.

Brookins said the province should ensure any new buildings have climate-control systems, and move services and staff from "ancient" buildings if ventilation can't be updated.

"They really need to be looking at ensuring that when they're building a facility, instead of only having 20 offices, they have 30," to accommodate employees now sweating it out, she said.  

Older health facilities in P.E.I. are heating up. The nurses' union weighs in

3 months ago

Duration 1:52

Temperatures are rising inside some of the Island's aging health-care facilities. CBC's Stacey Janzer spoke with P.E.I. Nurses' Union president Barbara Brookins about how the heat is affecting workers, patients and visitors.

The association that speaks out for people with lung issues on P.E.I. is also concerned about hotter temperatures and humid buildings hurting the health of patients in the facilities. 

"LungNSPEI recognizes that extreme heat and humidity can affect our breathing, especially those with lung conditions such as COPD and asthma," the association said in a statement.

Cooling project underway

The P.E.I. government said it's working on a cooling project for provincially run long-term care facilities. 

• READ: Health P.E.I.'s full statement on its facility cooling efforts

In a statement, the province said it's putting more than $3.5 million toward upgrades for facilities that don't have building-wide air conditioning. 

Those facilities include:

• Colville Manor
• Maplewood Manor
• Prince Edward Home
• Summerset Manor
• Beach Grove Home
• Wedgewood Manor
• Margaret Stewart Ellis Home

The province is also spending almost $6 million to upgrade ventilation systems in buildings including the QEH and Souris Hospital. Tenders for a majority of that work have already been awarded.

During heat waves, Islanders are often told to avoid strenuous activities and to drink plenty of water. 

But Brookins said that's not easy advice to follow when it comes to health-care staff who have to do their jobs at the warmer facilities. 

"We've had some really heavy workloads in areas and we've got a lot of short-staffing issues, and that's every discipline as well, not just in nursing….

"Where are you going to go? You go outside. It's hot. You come inside. It's hot," she said.

"You go sit in your car maybe and crank on the AC, but other than that, it is what it is right now, and I think climate change has definitely had a huge impact."