Royal Inland Hospital.

(ASHLEY LEGASSIC - REPORTER / iNFOnews.ca)

Nurses at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops were told to stay beyond their twelve hour shifts one day last week just to keep the hospital running.

An experienced nurse said she and the nurses on her floor were told by a director they must stay past their 7:30 p.m. clock out time Sunday, Nov. 14. 

“At 7 p.m. we were told to stay because administration was unable to figure out safe staffing for the entire building,” the nurse, who was granted anonymity because of likely repercussions, said. “This was the first time this has happened in all my years in health care.”

READ MORE: Interior Health hires more nurses to address staffing shortages at Kamloops hospital

The nurse said the end result wasn't so harsh — at 8:15 p.m. the staff was free to go home — but some were shaken up by the incident. Nurses have been saying for years that RIH and several other hospitals are chronically understaffed. That was made much worse during the pandemic and worse still when some nurses were put on leave and will likely be fired for refusing vaccination. 

Now they're left wondering when it will happen again and what's next.

“Many of our nurses work twelve hour shifts and are already feeling burned out and overwhelmed by the short staffing situation,” she said. “The job and long hours are hard on the mind and body. The thought we could be pushed to work beyond these already challenging parameters is just scary. This hospital is becoming an increasingly dangerous place to work.”

The nurse reported there is often a ratio of one nurse to 11 patients at the hospital, when it should be a maximum of one nurse to every four patients.

“Every day nurses are crying because we cannot come close to meeting the standards we are trained to meet,” she said. “Post-operative patients need extensive monitoring for 12 hours and they are simply not getting that because we are so short.”

The nurse said on the Monday morning following the incident she received numerous phone calls from other nurses.

“It was my scheduled day off,” she said. “I was contacted by (nurses) who were in tears asking for any insight into what they should do. They feel their rights have been violated and are seriously concerned for the safety of their patients and the mental health of their teammates. There have been threats this week that all pre-approved vacations will be cancelled.”

READ MORE: Kamloops mayor 'more than frustrated' by lack of communication from health officials

The nurse reported some members of the nursing staff have attempted several times to voice their concerns at the director level and have been disregarded.

“We have asked for help, for travel nurses to be hired, for recruitment,” she said. “We need nurses to come in on a contract basis for manpower. I’ve only seen two agency nurses in the building. Some think this has to do with COVID but these issues are linked to how things are being run and how nurses are being treated.

“When nurses speak out about the conditions, their jobs are threatened. Our community and our nurses deserve better.”

Interior Health was contacted Monday about the situation but refused to provide any clarification or information. The B.C. Nurses Union has not responded to requests for comment or information.

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