Year: 2007
Location: Calgary
Profile: Cynthia Perkins had 45 years of nursing practice when ALHI interviewed her. She was semi-retired and working as a .4 at Rocky View General Hospital in Calgary. Perkins trained in a Catholic hospital: it was “slave labour” but the practical experience she gained was immeasurably helpful throughout her nursing career. Perkins became a UNA activist after her then employer, the Colonel Belcher Hospital, previously a federal veterans’ hospital, came under provincial control. Perkins was elected president of her local and used the professional responsibility concerns clause (PRC) in the UNA contract to fight for better conditions for nurses and patients alike. UNA played an important role in finding new hospital employment for nurses as Coloner Belcher transitioned to a long-term care home for veterans. Perkins has been involved at Rocky View in accommodation of nurses who are returning to their nursing duties.
Perkins’ interview emphasizes workplace safety issues for staff and patients. Thanks to UNA and PRC provisions, transfer teams were established for lifting patients, which reduced back injuries. But overwork along with lack of staff and beds have created dangerous situations. At Rockyview, overcrowding reaches the point of creating fire hazards. Overburdened nurses inevitably sometimes made medication errors.
Keywords: Catholic training hospital; Colonel Belcher Hospital; Fire hazards in Alberta hospitals; Hospital overcrowding; Medication errors; Overwork of nurses; Professional Responsibility Concern clause (PRC); Rocky View General Hospital; Transfer teams; Veterans.
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See also: Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta; United Nurses of Alberta; Women and Work in Alberta