As Nursing Care Declines, Nurses Say Bullying, Intimidation On Rise

Ottawa, Canada (AHN) - As Nursing Week begins Sunday, the government and Canadians are concerned about what appears to be declining nursing care. But nurses too are complaining of bullying and intimidation on the job.

A finding by the Ontario Health Coalition that care in nursing homes did not move at 2.85 hours per resident for the past three years has prompted Health Minister George Smitherman to order tougher controls be placed.

Canadians are demanding better nursing services following a 52 percent boost in funding since 2003 to the tune of $3 billion annually. Another $600 million are in the budget for nursing homes for the next three years, but recent nursing home horror stories have prompted a deeper look into how the extra funds had been spent.

Wally Baker, a resident at Leisureworld Caregiving Center, died on April 30 due to a fall from an automated lift used for moving elderly patients from beds to chairs. Three days before, another resident, Florence Coxon, was strangled by a strap on her wheelchair.

The flipside to apparent inadequate patient care is the growing number of caregivers who have suffered abuse at the hands of patients and colleagues. Denise Koster, a workplace consultant, cited a survey she conducted among 2,500 healthcare workers in Ontario hospitals and long-term care centers which showed 47 percent of them had experienced bullying, while another 65 percent said they have been intimidated on the job.

The survey found incidents of verbal or sometimes physical abuse from patients or family members who vented their ire on nurses, especially those in pain or sorrow.

However, a larger portion of the abuse comes from hospital managers and fellow nurses, Evelyn Kerr, the director of nursing clinical practice at Ottawa Hospital told the Ottawa Sun.

Koster said medical institutions must offer a safe workplace to keep and attract nurses. As reported by the Sun, she said, "Nurses have it engraved in their souls that they must treat the patients with dignity and respect but the nurses also deserve the same respect."