The Independent Expert Nursing Panel has published a report on the state of Kingston General Hospital’s mental health and addictions unit.
Angela Prokanin, vice-president of the Ontario Nurses Association, said staff are overworked and constantly have to deal with patient violence in the unit.
“They’ve seen some really terrible things, and they’re suffering because of it,” Priokyanin said.
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The panel says that the unit needs immediate attention and changes for proper care and safety of the nurses working in the ward.
“The security of the unit did not allow them to be able to provide quality patient care,” Priokyanin said. “Staff shortages and violence at the unit are a matter of concern.”
One of the main points made by the report was to address the staffing shortage through recruitment and retention of nurses.
Kingston Health Sciences Center say they have worked with the panel on this report, and will review the points made as they work on meeting staff needs.
“Recruitment and retention of nurses at Kingston Health Sciences Center has been a challenge. We are working diligently to recruit, as well as work on retention strategies for our staff,” said Jason, Chief Nursing Executive at KHSC Hahn said.
Deb Lefebvre is a registered nurse who works on the mental health ward.
She says stress and mental health issues are big reasons why nurses are leaving the job in record numbers.
“The level of burnout and emotional fatigue… It takes a lot of emotional labor to develop these relationships with our patients. It is understandable how mental health nurse professionals are leaving the profession,” Lefebvre said.
Lefebvre says KHSC’s issues are not unique.
“The workload, patient safety and risk are similar across Ontario, if not Canada, for that matter,” Lefebvre said. “I don’t believe any hospital or health care setting is free of a nursing shortage at this time.”
Lefebvre and Preocanin both describe the panel report as a ‘last resort’, and they both say that urgent action must be taken to resolve the issues in order to avoid an even worse crisis in the coming months and years.
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