A new and dedicated pediatric psych unit is being created at Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH), much to the relief of nurses, who have long called for such action.
“Nurses have been raising alarms related to concerns of ongoing safety for some time and this is a real testament of their advocacy,” said Tristan Newby, vice-president of the B.C. Nurses’ Union. (BCNU).
The safety concerns relate to the layout of the pediatric and maternity units.
According to the BCNU, the units are essentially combined with no doors or separation between them.
The union stated there have been violent youth patients, dealing with mental health and substance use issues, admitted to the pediatric unit over the years and that has created a potentially unsafe situation for medical staff and patients in both units.
“If you have a 17 -year-old who has substance use issues, who’s having a psychotic episode, that patient population doesn’t mix particularly well with a unit supporting babies,” Newby said.
According to the BCNU, concerns have repeatedly been expressed to Interior Health (IH) but have been falling on deaf ears, even prompting nurses to refuse to work there.
“At some point when your concerns aren’t heard, you start speaking with your actions,” Newby said. “And what we have seen is the perinatal nurses within the unit are choosing not to work at the site anymore.”
In an email to Global News, IH confirmed the new unit is expected to open on Aug. 25.
The statement also partly reads, ‘This new dedicated unit will be designed to better support children and youth, including an environment designed for mental health recovery and care delivered by nurses with specialized mental health training.”
It’s not known what exactly prompted IH to create the new unit but it comes after BC’s health minister visited Vernon’s hospital earlier this month to address concerns.
“Josie Osborne showed up and then within the day it was announced,” Newby said.
While Newby calls the new pediatric psych unit good news, he hopes that in future, concerns raised by front-line health workers, such as nurses, are taken more seriously.
“I encourage Interior Health to be seeking those opportunities for input and actioning those solutions brought forward by their nurses,” he told Global News.
It’s not known how many beds will be available in the new unit.
