Risky work riles nurses: Day of Mourning honours job-related deaths

By Jason Miller, Sun Media

Ontario’s registered nurses say they’re sick of putting their health and safety at risk.

More than 100 registered nurses and other workers converged on City Hall yesterday to mark an annual Day of Mourning for those who have lost their lives on the job.

Vicki McKenna, vice-president of the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA), said more than 54,000 nurses and other hospital workers are pushing for tougher laws to deal with an increasing number of violent incidents in Ontario’s health-care facilities.

She said they are also seeking changes to provincial legislation that would recognize psychological harassment and bullying as workplace hazards.

“Nurses in many long-term care facilities across the province are facing violent incidents daily.” she said. “Some of this is caused by a lack of security.”

She said nurses are exposed to blood-borne diseases and there needs to be more equipment to protect them from infections. “It’s not acceptable when a nurse gets a pin prick and develops a serious disease and dies as a result,” Mc-Kenna said.

Sandy Bolyki, who has worked as a nurse for Princess Margaret Hospital for 22 years, said continuous heavy lifting has left her with chronic back problems.

“They used to have people to help with heavy lifting, but those people no longer exist,” she said.

The push for a safer workplace intensified after the late Justice Archie Campbell, who headed up the SARS Commission, tabled a report last year that identified hospitals as unsafe. He even compared them to mines.

There was also an incident earlier this month at Rouge Valley Centenary Hospital where nurses were left traumatized, after a mental patient got a knife and severely injured himself. Rouge Valley also plans to lay off 220 workers — a move the ONA calls a threat to security.

“The cuts will not affect security in the emergency department where the incident happened,” said David Brazeau, director of public affairs for Rouge Valley.