BC Nurses Union President Debra McPherson (right) visited Queen Victoria Hospital on Sunday with Tracy Quewezance (center), chairwoman of the union’s Thompson Okanagan region, and Judy Surka of Salmon Arm. McPherson had been visiting different communities throughout the Interior by bus in an effort to assess the condition of care provided to patients. She said conditions here were somewhat worse than other centres, with only two full-time registered nurses (RNs) and one licensed practical nurse (LPN) on duty at the hospital. “There are not enough nurses and there is not enough slack in the system if anything goes bad,” McPherson said. Quewezance said the nurses on duty at QVH do not have a lot of backup and changes are needed in the way Interior Health provides nursing care. “On the one hand they’re trying to save money and on the other hand they’re very inefficient,” she said. McPherson said nurses opinions are not sought when changes are made at the hospital. David F. Rooney photo
