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

Chris Edwards · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 14, 2025 5:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) says the neonatal intensive attraction portion astatine Regina General Hospital is facing an "unprecedented crisis" owed to overcapacity, but the province's wellness authorization and wellness curate accidental immoderate of the criticisms being made are inaccurate.

The allegation stems from an anonymous email sent to the national connected April 10 by idiosyncratic who said they are a NICU staffer. The national shared the email connected societal media the pursuing day.

"We've been operating implicit capableness for weeks, with nary contiguous alleviation successful sight," the email read. "Our dedicated unit are exhausted, moving extended hours and aggregate overtime shifts to guarantee our astir susceptible patients person the attraction they need."

The email besides said the unit's emblematic one-to-one ratio of caregiver to patient is nary longer viable and that the NICU was using its past disposable ventilator. 

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

"We're talking astir precise vulnerable, precise ill, small children, babies. And we're months into this present and we can't look to beryllium getting it resolved," Zambory said, noting she's been proceeding akin complaints since February.

Zambory said she was particularly alarmed by the reported nonaccomplishment of the one-to-one diligent ratio, which she said puts the unit's babe patients astatine hazard and prevents nurses from learning however to grip much hard situations.

"They request much staff. They request a due junior-senior mix. There needs to beryllium mentorship truthful that these young nurses tin really consciousness assured and harmless astatine what they're doing," she said.

According to Zambory, the issues successful the NICU person been reported to a manager in the unit and a nursing advisory has been triggered nether its corporate agreement. 

"We are really looking present to escalate it to spell to what we telephone an autarkic assessment, truthful that we tin really spot what's going connected and we tin get immoderate assistance to these registered nurses," Zambory said.

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

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

"Even with this unplanned surge, the SHA does not person a shortage of ventilators, including successful NICU," helium said. "A fig of ventilators successful NICU are dual-purpose, meaning they tin beryllium utilized arsenic ventilators and arsenic continuous affirmative airway unit (CPAP), allowing adjacent much flexibility depending connected the surge.

"This latest surge has required the SHA to bring successful further workload relief, and we are grateful for the committedness and dedication of our teams."

Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill took a akin tone, saying his authorities was focused connected tackling pediatric attraction portion acknowledging that the infirmary had seen a bump successful the fig of births. He besides disputed the ventilator shortage.

"Some of the things represented successful those posts are not wholly accurate," helium said. "We spot utilization pressures successful respective facilities astir the province, but we're making investments to easiness those pressures."

At a quality league connected Monday, Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP pushed backmost against claims the email was inaccurate astir the ventilator shortage. 

"I've had conversations with front-line health-care workers. It's close determination successful the message. Like, is helium really suggesting that this caregiver is lying astir this?" NDP rural and remote wellness professional Meara Conway said.

"Of course, the unit volition travel and spell connected the NICU, but the information that we're adjacent successful this concern wherever we were connected our past ventilator is concerning."