A former registered nurse says the massive health care overhaul is happening too fast and patients are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to care.
“It’s certainly not good for the patients,” Kardene Campbell told Global News.
READ MORE: Report: Confidence lost in overhaul of Manitoba health-care system
Campbell worked at Seven Oaks Hospital, but after 38 years as a nurse, she retired in June 2018.
“I didn’t feel that we, or myself, was providing people with the care that they deserved,” she said.
She said patients are being treated in all areas of the hospital and it wasn’t uncommon for a patient to speak to a doctor in the triage area where there was no privacy.
“People aren’t provided with the privacy and dignity they should be receiving,” Campbell said. “I think it’s time the front lines are heard.”
Under the Conservative government’s massive health care overhaul, Winnipeg has gone from six hospital Emergency Rooms down to three.
READ MORE: Winnipeg hospital stopped admitting patients after ‘critical and unsafe levels’ reached
In October 2017, the Victoria Hospital converted its ER to an Urgent Care Centre and the Urgent Care Centre at Misericordia closed.
This summer, the emergency rooms at Concordia and Seven Oaks hospitals also closed.
“Our workload had really increased and we didn’t necessarily have all the supports to help us with them,” she said.
In June, Global News obtained a memo sent to staff at St. Boniface hospital that stated the department had reached a “critical and unsafe level.”
It forced the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, for the second time in a week, to redirect ER patients to other hospitals for 24 hours.
READ MORE: ‘We won’t go back’: Manitoba to proceed with Seven Oaks Hospital transition
At the time, health officials blamed a surge in patients and said it had nothing to do with the recent ER closures.
“You can’t control when everybody shows up at what time so there are certain times of the day when things get busier,” Réal Cloutier, president and chief executive officer, WRHA said at the time.
But Campbell disagrees.
“There was a spillover from the other facilities, she said. “It’s such a domino effect. The three existing emergency (departments) in the city are having difficulty coping with the workload they have.”
But it wasn’t just the increased workload that pushed her to retire early. For Campbell, it was an overall shift in culture.
Campbell recalled many instances where “higher-ups” intervened and wanted to see patients moved to the discharge area quicker than nurses felt was appropriate.
She told Global News about one particular case where she had to fight back for her patient to receive the care they needed.
“I had no sooner started into the diagnostics and treatments of the individual and I was told that I could move this individual to the discharge lounge,” she said.
“Not a chance. This patient was by no means ready to go to a discharge lounge. It seemed to be kind of anything and anything to move a patient through.”
Campbell said it’s important to speak out about the problems that are happening within the hospitals and she’s also concerned about the future.
“It scares me. I’m not so young anymore,” she said. “I’m going to need the services of health care and I’m not really sure what’s going to be left.”
Global News reached out the WRHA, but was refused an interview. The health region also said it would not comment due to the election period blackout.
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