Too many sick infants, not enough nurses

There was no room at the inn for some East Coast babies in March when the Maritimes' only intensive care unit for critically ill newborns was forced to examine whether it could admit any new patients on a case-by-case basis. In 3 instances, the IWK Grace Health Centre in Halifax sent infants to hospitals in New Brunswick and Montreal, and one high-risk pregnant mother was also sent to a hospital outside the province.

Rick Nurse, the hospital's president and CEO, says demand for the Special Care Nursery is often unpredictable due to the complexity of care and the prolonged length of stay for some of the tiny patients. "However, this [March] was an exceptional circumstance - the IWK Grace has never before experienced such a high level of critical care patient activity in this unit."

The special nursery can accommodate 40 infants. Usually 5 to 12 of them are getting breathing assistance from a ventilator and require one-on-one nursing care. In March, however, at least 15 infants needed a ventilator and another 18 women were at risk of early labour. It was the lack of specialized nursing care - and not a shortage of hospital beds - that forced the IWK Grace to send patients elsewhere.

Heather Henderson, president of the Nova Scotia Nurses Union, said the province is currently experiencing a severe shortage of nurses, especially in specialty areas. She estimates that 650 more nurses are needed in the province.

Nurse admits that the hospital does not know whether demand for the services provided by the special nursery was a "blip" or an indication of an ongoing requirement. Health Minister Jamie Muir says the situation was a "blip," and the hospital will receive no more money for additional nurses.