Nursing shortage is important to lawyers

A report issued by the Canadian Nurses Association shows that the shortage of registered nurses is expected to grow to 60 000 by 2022. The current absentee rate for RNs is twice as high as any other profession with an average of 14 days per year. Workload, short-staffed units, lack of basic equipment and large numbers of less qualified and less experienced staff are taking a huge toll on the skilled work force in Canadian hospitals.

"It gets to a point where you have nurses so tired that when one of their colleagues calls in sick, they just say: 'Give me a warm body' - regardless if he or she has the education." Personal care workers are heavily relied on in some regions. "We need (them), don't get me wrong," Linda Silas, President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions said. "But for patient safety and quality care, you need the nurses around and we shouldn't jeopardize this because of the shortage."

There is also a noticeable shortage of doctors, pharmacists, and physiotherapists.

Why should this matter to a lawyer? Because when your client comes to you with their story of what happened to them in the healthcare system, you need to be aware of the dynamics of the environment in which the event(s) took place. What were the staffing levels at that moment? What were the qualifications and experience of the direct care givers as well as their supervisors? Was the care being given by a worker outside of their scope of practice? Was fatigue or illness a factor in the level of care being provided at that moment?

Legal nurse consultants are registered nurses who have hands-on experience with the healthcare environment. They know first hand how the level of care is affected by the dynamics of the unit and the people in it. Let their expertise and insight bring to light nuances of the case that could so easily be missed.