PrintUNA calls for more RN nursing home hours in presentation to health minister
Alberta must continue with minimum nursing and personal care hours in nursing home regulations, as well as maintain the requirement for a Registered Nurse to be on site in such facilities 24 hours a day, representatives of United Nurses of Alberta told Health Minister Sarah Hoffman in a recent meeting in Edmonton.
The meeting – attended by President Heather Smith, Vice-President Jane Sustrik and Labour Relations Director David Harrigan – grew out of UNA’s concerns about the provincial health department’s ongoing review of legislation covering nursing homes and home care in Alberta.
The UNA representatives told the minister the value of RNs to the health care system has been thoroughly researched and is well understood – backed by Alberta Health Services’ own assumptions about the needs of residents in long-term care. UNA was concerned in particular about the accuracy of background information and stakeholder communications.
UNA followed up on the meeting by providing Minister Hoffman with an extensive document summarizing the situation faced by care providers in in long-term care settings in Alberta that explained the need for increased direct-care RN hours to achieve better outcomes.
