March attack prompts safety enhancements. Ian Hitchen, Brandon Sun, July 23, 2011 Brandon - Extra security measures to protect rural hospital staff are on the way as the province prepares to bring in new health and workplace safety regulations. Assiniboine RHA CEO Penny Gilson said personal panic alarms for nurses should be installed at the Hamiota health centre as a pilot project by early August - just before the new regulations take effect August 31. The new rules require health-care employers, and employers in other sectors, to implement measures to prevent violence against employees. ... Nurses

CBC News, November 9, 2010 Workload reports written by on-shift Winnipeg nurses show concerns over patient safety and employee burnout in city hospitals and long-term care homes, largely as a result of understaffing. Workload reports written by on-shift Winnipeg nurses show concerns over patient safety and employee burnout in city hospitals and long-term care homes, largely as a result of understaffing. Nurses are expected to fill out a reporting form when they experience workload problems while on the job that did or could have had an impact on patient safety. Reports obtained by CBC News offer a rare insider's view of nurses' workload-related issues in Winnipeg's health-care system. ... Nurses

CBC News, August 9, 2010 First Nations and Métis groups in Manitoba have high hopes for a program to train aboriginal nurses in rural and northern communities in the province. First Nations and Métis groups in Manitoba have high hopes for a program to train aboriginal nurses in rural and northern communities in the province. The province and the federal government announced $9.47 million in funding Monday to train up to 150 aboriginal people to work as licensed practical nurses. The program is run in partnership with First Peoples Development Inc., the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak. ... Manitoba

Winnipeg Free Press, May 28, 2010 The province’s nurses have reached a tentative agreement for a three-and-a-half year contract with no salary increases for the first two years. In a statement tonight, Manitoba Nurses Union president Sandi Mowat said "reaching a settlement has been a long and difficult process. "Our members made it clear to us that they wanted us to address pension issues and to maintain a competitive stance for the recruitment and retention of nurses." ... Nurses

Canadian Press, May 28, 2010 Winnipeg - The Manitoba government says it has reached an agreement with the Manitoba Nurses Union. Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk says the deal will protect front-line health services while managing very difficult budgets over the next few years. Wowchuk says that will provide the government with necessary. short-term fiscal predictability while maintaining long-term sustainability. The 3 1/2 year deal will include no wage increases for two years but a one-time lump-sum payment of two per cent followed by a four per cent increase in year three. ... Manitoba

Mary Agnes Welch, Winnipeg Free Press, May 4, 2010 The Manitoba Nurses Union is polling big-time? In addition to a spate of television spots touting nurses, the MNU just finished gauging how people feel about its battle with the province over a wage freeze. It was one of the more sophisticated polls I've heard about. People were asked, among other things, whether people feel nurses are overpaid, under what circumstances a wage hike would be warranted, what kind of messaging would best convince them of the need for a wage hike and how they feel about some kind of job action - anything from refusing OT to information pickets to a strike. ... Viro

John Towns, Selkirk Journal, April 22, 2010 Manitoba experienced its highest ever increase in nurses in 2009 with 498 new nurses working in the province, and the Interlake Regional Health Authority has been feeling the impact of the new nurses – at least in the southern part of the region. According to Lorne Charbonneau, IRHA's vice president of health services, IRHA is still having difficulty recruiting new nurses to work in some of the more northern regions of the authority's 26,000 square kilometre area of responsibility, which encompasses the Tri-S area and runs as far north into the Interlake as Gypsumville. ... Nurse

Winnipeg Free Press, April 15, 2010 Winnipeg - Nearly 500 more nurses are working in Manitoba than one year ago. The province announced this morning that new data from the nursing college shows that 498 more nurses are practising in Manitoba - the largest recorded annual increase. Data shows that province gained 467 registered nurses, 23 licensed practical nurses and 16 nurse practitioners in the past year. In the past three years, Manitoba has gained a total of 943 nurses. ... Nursing

'Worth just as much - hour for hour - as the work of nurses elsewhere in Manitoba.' NUPGE, September 3, 2008 Winnipeg - The Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU/NUPGE) says nurses working in the Manitoba Civil Service are being mistreated by the province when compared with nurses working under the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) contract. For many years, nurses working in the Manitoba Civil Service have worked longer hours than their colleagues working in other health care facilities and have done so for less pay. With the recent MNU settlement, this gap in pay has widened even further, says MGEU president Peter Olfert. ... MGEU

'After all, we're human'. Kevin Rollason, Winnipeg Free Press, June 20, 2008 Winnipeg - Nurses on the overnight shift need naps for their own health and for that of their patients, according to a study by the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba. Researchers Diana McMillan and Wendy Fallis found that if nurses can take a quick nap, it not only helps their personal health and safety, but also prevents medication errors. McMillan said nurses told them that without a nap they exhibit foggy thinking, irritability and slowed mental processing. ... Nurses

CBC News, April 23, 2007 Manitoba's New Democrats unveiled the priorities of their campaign Monday, a seven-point plan with health-care priorities at the top of the list. In a crowded nursing skills lab at Red River College, NDP Leader Gary Doer said if he's re-elected his government will put 700 more nurses to work. "There are going to be lots of announcements in this campaign that basically deal with services that people care about," Doer said. "It's very simple: if you have more nurses on the front lines, you will have less patients on waiting lists." Doer said the new nurses would be trained in Winnipeg, in Brandon and in northern Manitoba. He promised another $1.5 million to expand the Red River College lab alone. ... NDP

Winnipeg Sun, April 19, 2007
A shortage of nurses has resulted in $33.7 million being paid out in overtime costs over the last five years, according to information obtained by the Tories from a freedom of information request. Since 2001, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has spent $29 million on nursing overtime and nearly $5 million on private duty nursing. "NDP Health Minister Theresa Oswald is trying to create the illusion that her government has fixed the nursing shortage," said Tory health critic Myrna Driedger. "However, nursing overtime and the use of private duty nurses by the WRHA paint a very different picture." Oswald said the Tories are to blame for the high overtime costs because when they were in power they shrunk the work force. "It has taken us seven years to turn that horrid decision around of firing 1,500 nurses," said Oswald. The NDP government has increased the amount of nursing positions, but there's still much work to be done, said Oswald.

CBC News, March 7, 2007 Manitoba's health minister says it has taken years, but the NDP government has finally restored the number of nurses working in the province to levels matching those before the Conservative cuts in the 1990s. Health Minister Theresa Oswald says the latest numbers from the province's three colleges representing nurses - the College of Registered Nurses, the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses, and the College of Licensed Practical Nurses - show Manitoba now has 15,681 nurses. When the Conservatives were in office in the 1990s, they phased out nursing positions on the advice of a US consultant, Oswald said, leading to a decade-long nursing shortage. ... NDP

Brett Megarry, CJOB, October 18, 2006 The President of the Manitoba Nurses Union says there's an increasing shortage of nurses this year, despite statistics that say otherwise. The Canadian Institute for Health Information says the nation's nursing workforce rose by two percent between 2004 and 2005, and Manitoba leads the way with a 5.7 percent increase. ... More

CBC News, August 1, 2006 The Manitoba Nurses' Union has filed unfair labour practice charges with the Manitoba Labour Board over the imposition of French language requirements at a Winnipeg hospital. Some nurses who work at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg's French quarter have been told they will have to speak French to work in certain areas, Maureen Hancharyk, president of the nurses union, said Tuesday. Hancharyk said the language qualifications will affect nurses who have years of experience and are otherwise qualified. ... Nurses