CBC, February 23, 2006

The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses wants the province to hire 600 nurses.

SUN president Rosalee Longmoore said there's a serious shortage of nurses which is dangerous to workers and patients.

Longmoore said no one has died, but there have been some near misses. Overwork is a major concern, she said.

"We can no longer stand by and watch our members being worked overtime, day after day after day, putting themselves at risk of physical deterioration," she said. ... Province

Neil Scott, Saskatchewan News Network, November 30, 2005

Regina - Members of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) have voted about 93 per cent in favour of ratifying a contract that provides most nurses 9.5 per cent pay raises over three years.

Ratification of the deal, which was reached in late October in negotiations with representatives of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO), had been anticipated.

Rosalee Longmoore, the president of SUN, said she was pleased with the strong margin of support provided by the membership for the agreement. ... Nurses

Neil Scott, Leader-Post, October 29, 2005

A contract agreement that will provide Saskatchewan nurses with a base 7.5-per-cent pay raise over three years was reached Friday.

The tentative deal will also provide senior nurses with five years or more experience an additional two-per-cent pay raise at the start of the third year of the agreement.

And that means about 86 per cent of the registered nurses in the province (all those with at least five years experience) will effectively be receiving 9.5-per-cent pay raises over the three years. ... Nurses

CBC, October 28, 2005

The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses is pleased that it has reached a tentative deal that it says will keep its members working in the province.

Early this morning, the union signed an agreement that includes 7.5 per cent increases in wages and retention allowances over three years as well as a 12 per cent increase in northern allowances.

Under the deal signed with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations, there are provisions for employers to hire new nursing graduates for up to one year. There is also funding of extended health benefits as well as maintenance of those benefits. ... Nurses

CBC, October 28, 2005

A community in northeastern Saskatchewan has its three nurses back on the job but only because a security guard has been hired to protect them at the medical clinic where they work.

The nurses returned yesterday to Sandy Bay after a group of intoxicated youths threatened them on Saturday night. The nurses said they were yelled and cursed at and eventually threatened with violence.

Some community residents say more security may be needed to keep the nurses safe, while others say the nurses should have stayed instead of leaving the town without any medical professionals. ... Nurses

CBC, October 26, 2005

A community in northeastern Saskatchewan was expecting to have its three nurses back on the job Wednesday for the first time since Sunday. But it didn't happen.

An incident involving drunken youths Saturday night caused the nurses to leave Sandy Bay.

The nurses told town officials they were yelled and cursed at and eventually threatened with violence.

After the nurses left, the town was in the position of having no medical professionals at all. ... Town

CBC, October 25, 2005

Police have been contacted after nurses in the remote northern community of Sandy Bay said they were threatened by patients. The nurses left the village on Sunday afternoon, leaving the town in a precarious position, according to a spokesperson for the local health region.

"Certainly, we want to be responsive to the community's needs. But, having said that, we also have to balance that against the safety of our staff. And that's the dilemma they're in right now," said Mamawetan Churchill River health region CEO Lionel Chabot. ... Nurses

StarPhoenix, October 27, 2005

The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is giving a failing grade to planning for human resources in the health sector based on the latest nursing numbers released Wednesday.

"Canadians are worried about access to health services," said Marlene Smadu, CNA's president-elect in response to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) report on registered nurses workforce trends. ... Nurses

In a new Ipsos-Reid poll, Canadians indicate that they would spend surpluses and raise taxes to end nursing shortage.
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, June 3, 2005

Regina - Ipsos-Reid and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions are releasing a new national poll today that makes it clear that the Canadian public sees ending the nursing shortage as a top priority. Furthermore, large majorities believe that retaining experienced nurses and recruiting new ones should be financed "using any available surplus revenues" (73%) and through "raising taxes on the top 10% of wage earners" (67%). ... Poll

Drs' speeches on efficacy of private health care & the big drug companies abuse of patients/consumers.
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, June 1, 2005

Regina - Harvard experts on private health care & big drug companies to address nurses

Canada's organization of front line nurses will hold the business segment its 12th Biennial Convention in Regina, this Sunday and Monday, June 5th and June 6th. The convention will host over 500 delegate-nurses and feature addresses by two of the US's foremost experts on health care policy: former editors the New England Journal of Medicine and educators at Harvard Medical School Arnold S Relman, MD, and Marcia Angell, MD. ... Harvard

58 per cent of Sask. nurses report on-the-job abuse in past year: SRNA survey.
Janet French, The StarPhoenix, May 2, 2005

Not many jobs come with the likelihood of being sworn at, kicked, or being the brunt of rude remarks. For Saskatchewan's nurses, physical, emotional, verbal and sometimes sexual abuse is a part of the job some have learned to accept, and some say it's getting worse.

In a recent survey commissioned by the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association, 58 per cent of nurses who care directly for patients said they had been abused on the job at least once in the past year. ... Nurses