Paula Doucet is the president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union. (Image: Tara Clow)
The president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union believes nurse shortages will continue to disrupt the operations at hospitals if the situation does not improve.
Between May 8 and 10, ambulances were diverted from the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre to the Moncton Hospital due to a shortage of nurses.
This was just three weeks removed from temporary closures at the emergency department at Horizon’s Sackville Memorial Hospital after similar issues.
“It’s only a matter of time before other facilities are hit with similar situations,” said Paula Doucet, the president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union.
There is a shortage of about 700 nurses, according to Doucet, who believes that the province is experiencing one of the worst shortages its ever seen, accompanied by the pandemic.
“The RHAs [regional health authorities], Department of Health and the premier need to be looking at the service that’s being delivered,” said Doucet.
Several positions in the field of nursing can be found throughout the regional health authority’s websites; however, the province’s issues stem further than that.
“Working conditions need to be dealt with and making the work-life balance a little better for our registered nurses,” she said, “There are just no nurses applying right now and, they’re not recruiting as aggressively to the province as we hoped they would.”
Nurses in New Brunswick receive the lowest wages compared to similar positions across Atlantic Canada.
Doucet credits her staff for their diligent efforts but notes that at the end of the day their still human.
“They’re holding it together, and right now, the stressors with global pandemic and the shortages and working conditions are taking its toll.”
