Would you send your child to a summer camp with 175 kids running around and just one camp counselor to try and keep the place from burning down?
If you answered no, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) would like to have a word with you.
The union representing 75,000 healthcare professionals, of which 90 per cent are women, is sounding the alarm saying the province is headed for a catastrophic shortage of workers in public health if it doesn't back down on retirement-related measures.
Launching what it calls 'The Black Book of Care Safety' the FIQ said healthcare workers have "reached our quota" and running out of steam.
"I was doing overtime and was supposed to train a new employee. Two of my colleagues were absent with no replacements that evening. So, they asked me to be responsible for all the patients in the nursing homes, which included over 200 seniors" one nurse said. "Plus, I was put on-call for home care, which also includes a lot of patients. … the patient-to-nurse ratio that my employer imposed on me was not safe. I cannot do overtime, train an employee, be on-call for home care and responsible for an additional 200 patients who are spread over a distance of nearly one hour by car there and back."
The Black Book states there are 1,326 incidents and accidents in the healthcare network every day and in many cases the quality and safety of care is compromised.
"Today two nurses are absent and not replaced and we have to administer 50 chemotherapy treatments to very sick, vulnerable patients. There's a much higher risk of error because we are under even more pressure. It's dangerous because we are administering very aggressive chemotherapy treatments where there's no room for error" one oncology nurse said.
"My colleagues and I are running out of steam and if an error occurs, we will be blamed and reprimanded. Our unit head is aware of the situation but doesn't come to evaluate it out of fear of having to face the problem."
The FIQ is calling on the Provincial Health Minister is introduce new measures that ensure proper staffing ratios and work hours for Quebec's healthcare workers.
"We're told that … even if we don't complete all the blood tests, no one will die. To do the most urgent ones and not to worry about the rest. Isn't that just inhumane? On behalf of our patients, can't we just provide them with safe care with dignity? We have insane workloads" added another nurse.
To help spread its message the FIQ has launched a social media campaign, which includes a series of videos showing the public how the health network is working.
Premier Philippe Couillard has said he knows healthcare professionals are being pushed beyond their limits and is grateful for the work they do. He adds the money is there to fill the positions needed, and if the current plan is not working he invites the union offer new ways of reducing the workload.