More than 100 nurses from Nanaimo and Victoria showed up at Island Health’s board meeting on Thursday to deliver another 3000 signatures on a petition demanding an independent, expert review of the Care Delivery Model Redesign.
CDMR replaced some nurses on key units with care aides when it was introduced at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital last September, and more recently at Victoria area hospitals. The BC Nurses Union says it’s seriously compromising patient care and professional standards.
Jo Salken is the BCNU’s Pacific Rim Regional Chair. She says they’ve now gathered more than 25,000 signatures calling for a review of CDMR.
Salken says the impact of those nursing cuts is especially evident around this time of year, when patient numbers increase due to flu season.
Salken says their pleas to Island Health to revisit the CDMR issue have so far gone unanswered. Island Health says there is no evidence of problems.
