Staff shortage at Gatineau Hospital leads to 2-hour protest

A group of nurses at the Gatineau Hospital held an on-the-job protest Saturday morning after an exhausted colleague was told she needed to stay after finishinga 12-hour shift.

The summer season has left the Gatineau, Que. hospital with limited staff and resources, and a combination of vacation requests and a surge in patientshas forced management to ask nurses to work mandatory overtime.

The situation came to a head Saturdaywhen the nurse in question said she was too fatiguedto carry out her duties.

In a show of solidarity, eight other nurses stayedto work with their colleague, attempting to force the hospital to pay them all roughly two hours of overtime.

The details of the workplace protest were confirmed to Radio-Canada by the nurses' union and some of the nurses who took part.

Nurse shortage

The situation led to a meeting between the hospital and the union.

"We are already asking our nurses and licensed practical nurses to work many extra hours andmandatory overtime," said union representative Patrick Guay in French.

"It's not up to them to solve the shortage."

Guay told Radio-Canada that the number of nurses scheduled to work was insufficient.

"When we are in a situation where we ourselves are lacking help, it is difficult to give [patients] the care they are entitled to," he said.

Petition circulating

The OutaouaisIntegrated Health and Social Services Centre (CISSS), the organization that oversees hospital operations, described the incident as aminor human resources matter.

A spokesperson for the CISSScalled itan "imbroglio," telling Radio-Canadathat it came down to a misunderstanding of the union convention.

After a meeting with the union, the nine nurses were sent home. According to theCISSS, the nurses were no longer neededafter the two hours of overtime.

Before the protest, a petition from the union had already been circulating, demanding better working conditions.