‘We’re not seeing improvement’: Nurses rally outside Manitoba Legislature

Manitoba Nurses Union launches ‘Same Shift, Different Day,’ a campaign to get action on the provincial promise to fix healthcare. Taylor Brock has more.

Hundreds of nurses rallied outside the legislature, calling for the Manitoba government to take action on long-promised improvements to the health care system.

“We elected an NDP government 18 months ago with many, many promises to fix health care,” said Darlene Jackson, the president of the Manitoba Nurses Union.

“We hear from our nurses on a daily basis that we are not seeing any appreciable change to health care. We’re not seeing improvement, and nurses are frustrated, and it’s time for action.”

During the rally, the union launched a new tongue-in-cheek campaign dubbed ‘Same Shift, Different Day.’

The signs nurses were waving Wednesday had the ‘f’ crossed out of the word shift.

“What we’re finding is the only way we get the government’s attention is by actually either shaming them or coming out and being edgy,” Jackson said, when asked about the name of the campaign.

“If that’s what we need to do to get action, if that’s what we need to do for our members to actually be staffed appropriately, for our patients to get the care they need—then so be it.”

She said one of the main calls of the union is for the province to implement a nurse-patient ratio, saying there is no ratio in Manitoba right now.

“Nurse-patient ratios will help solve our nursing shortage. I firmly believe that,” Jackson said.

“We know that it’s a retention tool. More nurses want to work in a health care system where the number of patients they are looking after is controlled, and they can provide the care they know they need to.”

The concerns were echoed by Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook during question period.

“I was at the rally outside, and I heard the Manitoba Nurses Union loud and clear,” Cook said in a question to Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara.

“They’ve had enough of this NDP government’s endless empty promises and failure to follow through. They are frustrated, they are burned out, and they are exhausted.”

In response, Asagwara pointed to past health care cuts made by the PC government when it was in power.

“We are doing the work of fixing the damage done by members opposite,” Asawara said, noting the government’s work is not complete.

“We’ve hired 600 net new nurses, we’ve reduced overtime at Health Sciences Centre by 45 per cent. We know that there is much more work to do.”

CTV News has reached out to the health minister for further comment.