“i’m hearing it every day from members that we’re getting to the point of no return, and nobody wants to have to start making decisions about who gets the care they need and who doesn’t,” she said.
“we’re in a worse shape than when all of these rules were in place before. we need to have these rules reinstated.”
already nurses across the province are having to treat critically ill patients in units not meant for them, zambory said. with icus activating surge capacity and still full, she said some patients who would normally be in icu are now being treated in medicine units.
“the people working on the medicine ward are absolutely petrified for their patients … because they don’t have everything required to make sure that these people are being cared for safely and properly,” she said.
these working conditions have been wearing on health care workers. masri said morale among hospital staff has dropped noticeably during the fourth wave and the sombre mood can be felt within minutes of stepping foot inside the building.
zambory said nurses feel unsupported by the province as their increasingly desperate calls for more public health measures go unheeded.
“they’re feeling abandoned. they’re feeling despondent, burned out, anxious, depressed, and they just want this to end,” she said.