Nurses set to vote on grey-listing Seven Oaks

Nurses at Seven Oaks General Hospital in northwest Winnipeg are set to vote next month on whether to grey-list the facility to push for additional safety and security measures.

Manitoba Nurses Union members at Health Sciences Centre, St. Boniface Hospital and Thompson General Hospital have voted to grey-list those facilities.

“A lot of it has to do with safety in the facility. Even more of it has to do with… the inability to provide safe patient care,” union president Darlene Jackson said about Seven Oaks.

“Nurses are sick and tired of not being able to provide the care they know their patients require. As a result of that and wait times, it seems like nurses are taking the brunt of the violence that happens when it comes to people being angry because they aren’t being seen or things aren’t happening.”

She said it is demoralizing when nurses are blamed for things that are out of their control. The vote is scheduled for June 10-11.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said institutional safety officers will be deployed to Seven Oaks and staff will screen visitors at entrances.

The steps are being taken in response to employees’ concerns about violence and threats.

“Every health-care worker deserves to feel safe at work, and we take the concerns raised by nurses at Seven Oaks General Hospital very seriously,” Asagwara said in a statement.

Grey-listing is a tactic that discourages nurses from seeking work at a facility, while pressing health authorities to take action in response to members’ concerns.

Jackson said nurses at Seven Oaks, like those in other facilities in Manitoba, are facing “huge” workloads, with some caring for seven to 10 patients at a time, depending on the unit.

“You are only able to do very basic care. It’s do meds, do your vital signs, do the basics — you’re not able to do what nurses should be doing, which is actually connecting with their patients and families, and finding out, are there issues with their discharge (from hospital)?” she said.

“It’s because no one has time to sit down and talk to them about it. Health care is meant to be a holistic type of care where you actually have time to connect with your patients, and that’s not happening anymore.”

The situation is unsafe for patients and nurses, Jackson said.

The union is advocating for nurse-to-patient ratios to be implemented as soon as possible by the Manitoba government. B.C. began a phased rollout in 2023.

The NDP government introduced legislation in March to create ratios, starting with priority areas such as intensive care and operating rooms. It is unclear when Manitoba’s rollout will begin.

A committee submitted recommendations for system-wide ratios to Asagwara in December.

MNU members at Seven Oaks are seeking improved or additional security measures, including the deployment of institutional safety officers, Jackson said.

“They’re saying it’s very similar to the Grace (Hospital) and other hospitals. They are seeing more and more violence, and more and more abuse and escalations,” she said.

A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said employees’ concerns are taken “very seriously.” A meeting between the hospital’s management and the nurses union was held Monday.

Asagwara said a follow-up meeting is scheduled for next week to further discuss security improvements.

In response to recent concerns, Seven Oaks has added more secured access points, upgraded lighting in staff and visitor parking areas, instituted 24-7 security, and formed an urgent care violence prevention task force.

The hospital has installed amnesty lockers in which visitors can store weapons or items that could be used as weapons.

The Seven Oaks surveillance camera system is being upgraded, and safety protocol training is being looked at. The hospital is being added to an app, known as SAFE, that sends emergency notifications to employees, and allows them to communicate directly with security staff.

“We will continue working closely with MNU and front-line staff to identify solutions and strengthen safety measures at the site,” Asagwara said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca