As the Saskatchewan healthcare system is stretched to its limit, many members are seeking help. Beds lining the hallways, overflowing waiting rooms and rural bypasses are leading to massive burnout and moral distress.

 

I know members are losing hope because they feel there is no support from leadership and no end in sight. We’ve been hearing from so many of you that we’ve created a dedicated inbox where you can email in your experiences to be shared on SUN social media, media interviews and website.

 

Your frontline stories always generate huge engagement and we want to be your voice.

 

Please, share your experiences by emailing them to YourVoice@sun-nurses.sk.ca. All submissions will remain anonymous. What you share doesn’t need to be long, just a few sentences that describe your concerns.
VOICE YOUR EXPERIENCE

Together, we can show the public why this healthcare system HAS to change,

 

Tracy Zambory,

SUN President
 
 

Here’s what our members have been sharing with us:

 

Every day, every shift we are a couple RNs below baseline, but last night RUH ED was 7, yes, 7 RNs short! That was in addition to 50 patients in the WR, 29 admitted patients of 35 beds, 15 hallway beds, and ever-mounting EMS off-load delays.

-ED Nurse, Saskatoon

 

I don't think I have ever ever ever felt as tired as I do now. caring for patients in the hallway and make shift spaces without privacy and constantly unable to give safe care. It's getting old showing up shift after shift with 0 beds, short staffed, and being expected by patients/family/physicians to make the impossible happen.
-Registered Nurse, Saskatchewan

 

I will forever dedicate my professional life to advocate for the care of patients in the Emergency Department, but it’s clear no help is on the horizon.
-ED Nurse, Saskatoon

 

I think a lot of my coworkers are on their way out right now or coming close to leaving. I will be going to ICU.
-Registered Nurse, Saskatchewan

 

[St. Paul's] ED is in a worse situation today than we were back in November [2023] when the nurses rallied in Saskatoon. It has progressively gotten worse since June and all the fixes promised in the capacity action plan are used up and we are being given no more solutions. Today we are sitting with 41 patients waiting for ward beds. We only have 33 beds in our department, so we don't have enough space to house the admissions let alone deal with the actual emergency patients that we are supposed to care for. An added stress is the story out of Fredericton where 2 nurses are being sued related to a death in an ED waiting room; a situation that could easily be our reality here in Saskatchewan. We desperately need help.
-ED Nurse, Saskatoon

 

My coworkers keep showing up daily, but for how long? we could make the same money working in a much less stressful environment & maybe even feel supported & safe. things need to change before we totally collapse.
-Registered Nurse, Saskatchewan