Sask. Union of Nurses says Regina neonatal unit is experiencing overcapacity crisis

The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) says the neonatal intensive care unit at Regina General Hospital is facing an "unprecedented crisis" due to overcapacity, but the province's health authority and health minister say some of the criticisms being made are inaccurate.

The allegation stems from an anonymous email sent to the union on April 10 by someone who said they are a NICU staffer. The union shared the email on social media the following day.

"We've been operating over capacity for weeks, with no immediate relief in sight," the email read. "Our dedicated staff are exhausted, working extended hours and multiple overtime shifts to ensure our most vulnerable patients receive the care they need."

The email also said the unit's typical one-to-one ratio of nurse to patient is no longer viable and that the NICU was using its last available ventilator. 

SUN president Tracy Zambory said the message came to the union's Your Voice email accounts, which protects the identity of the sender.

"We're talking about very vulnerable, very ill, little children, babies. And we're months into this now and we can't seem to be getting it resolved," Zambory said, noting she's been hearing similar complaints since February.

Zambory said she was especially alarmed by the reported loss of the one-to-one patient ratio, which she said puts the unit's infant patients at risk and prevents nurses from learning how to handle more difficult situations.

"They need more staff. They need a proper junior-senior mix. There needs to be mentorship so that these young nurses can actually feel confident and safe at what they're doing," she said.

According to Zambory, the issues in the NICU have been reported to a manager in the unit and a nursing advisory has been triggered under its collective agreement. 

"We are actually looking here to escalate it to go to what we call an independent assessment, so that we can actually see what's going on and we can get some help to these registered nurses," Zambory said.

"There's a whole raft of things we're looking at."

In a statement, Saskatchewan Health Authority spokesperson Doug Dahl acknowledged a surge in patients, but disputed the ventilator claim. 

"Even with this unplanned surge, the SHA does not have a shortage of ventilators, including in NICU," he said. "A number of ventilators in NICU are dual-purpose, meaning they can be used as ventilators and as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), allowing even more flexibility depending on the surge.

"This latest surge has required the SHA to bring in additional workload relief, and we are grateful for the commitment and dedication of our teams."

Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill took a similar tone, saying his government was focused on tackling pediatric care while acknowledging that the hospital had seen a bump in the number of births. He also disputed the ventilator shortage.

"Some of the things represented in those posts are not entirely accurate," he said. "We see utilization pressures in several facilities around the province, but we're making investments to ease those pressures."

At a news conference on Monday, Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP pushed back against claims the email was inaccurate about the ventilator shortage. 

"I've had conversations with front-line health-care workers. It's right there in the message. Like, is he actually suggesting that this nurse is lying about this?" NDP rural and remote health critic Meara Conway said.

"Of course, the pressure will come and go on the NICU, but the fact that we're even in this situation where we were on our last ventilator is concerning."