Nurses raise concerns about patient safety, staffing shortages in Sask. maternity wards

WATCH: The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses is highlighting issues at maternity wards in Saskatoon and Regina – short staffing, a lack of beds, and inadequate care.

The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) is sharing anonymous letters from nurses on social media, citing unsafe conditions in maternity wards in Saskatoon and Regina.

SUN president Bryce Boynton said nurses are reporting staffing shortages, a lack of beds, outdated equipment and inadequate care at the maternity ward in the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital.

“They don’t have enough staff to keep up with the number of patients that are coming in,” Boynton said.

He says staff are seeing an increase in the number of expectant mothers presenting with comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes and syphilis, making their care more complex.

Boynton adds Regina General Hospital’s maternity ward is facing similar challenges, along with issues around outdated equipment. Those concerns were echoed in anonymous letters posted to social media.

“Patients are being denied basic care, waiting in waiting rooms for hours, delivering in triage beds and being denied epidurals because of capacity pressures,” one nurse at Regina General Hospital wrote.

“Our electronic fetal monitors are becoming so outdated that monitors completely stop working while being used on a patient, equipment malfunctions, we are running from room to room to find working equipment,” another nurse added.

“Nurses left solo with eight pre-natal patients when usually there are two nurses for that same load,” wrote a nurse at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital.

Boynton said addressing staffing issues must be a priority.

“Let’s re-assess our staffing availability. Let’s focus on recruitment and retention, but primarily that retention, and let’s talk about nurse-patient ratios.”

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In a statement to CTV News, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) attributed recent staffing shortages at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital to “an extremely high number of births,” staff vacations and illnesses in July.

“August has seen a return to normal birthing numbers and staffing levels,” the SHA said. “Despite these challenges, patient safety remained our top priority.”

The SHA did not respond to claims about equipment issues at Regina General Hospital, but said Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital is outfitted with the necessary equipment.