095 STAFFING

Staffing was a major problem.  There were shortages because of low staffing levels, summer holidays and if a nurse booked off sick it leads to absolute chaos, until and if a replacement could be found.  The nurses and care aides were run off their feet.  There were for the most part, some amazing nurses and care aides, a small minority not so much.  I mentioned my introduction to the hospital and first encounter with Zoltan (yes, it’s his real name), he didn’t make a great impression on me that first day, but he changed my mind as time went on.

He was assigned to me several more times and I came to change my initial impression of him.  Yes, he was quite brusk, but was very efficient and helpful in later encounters.  He never failed to help me when needed and never failed to answer the call bell.  That wasn’t the case with all the staff.  On the medical ward that I was on, each nurse was assigned to care for up to 9 patients.  By necessity, they had to take care of the sickest ones first and I guess the complainers.

Some people would ring their call bells at the drop of a hat and for some of the stupidest reasons.  I never rang the call bell unless I really needed help, the nurses loved me for that reason.  But, they would also give me shit because I didn’t call, especially when it came to pain management.  As I was told it is far easier to control pain if you get out ahead of it, rather than waiting until it’s well established.  Then it is much harder to get under control.  By the time I figured it out, I almost didn’t need pain meds anymore.

This also worked to my advantage, because lots of times the nurses during some of the rare quiet times would come and sit and visit with me.  The company was wonderful, and it was great swapping stories.  They were all interested in this story of how I came to be there, but when they found out I was a retired policeman, they were interested in career highlights, or war stories as we call them.  They had their own stories to tell as well and cops and nurses just seem to be able to relate to one another.  I guess that’s why, so many cops are dating or married to nurses.

I mentioned Nurse Tim in Kamloops, but I also had his counterpart in Ridge Meadows.  His name was Waylon.  What makes him more significant was he was a youngish Asian fellow, with a Southern country singer name.  He explained that his Dad was a huge country music fan and a big fan of Waylon Jennings, hence the name.

I didn’t get Waylon assigned to me that often, but really appreciated it when I did.  He was very attentive and could almost sense when something wasn’t quite right with me.  We spent hours just chatting, especially on night shift when it was quieter with the bulk of the patients asleep.

CLOSE UP OF SCAR

STILL SWOLLEN

Conversely, there were the ones who weren’t quite as attentive, and I really didn’t bother to learn their names.  One I dubbed “The Ice Queen”.  She was also Asian, and tall and slim.  That all makes no never mind, it’s just to give some context.  On nightshift, she would walk around the ward with one of the heated blankets draped over her shoulders.  She would rarely come into the room and a lot of times would not bother to answer the call bell.  She would turn it off remotely and then never show up.

There was one night that she came in at 6:00 PM and that was the last time I saw her.  I had trouble sleeping that night and never saw her making rounds or coming in.  The next nurse I saw was at 6:00 AM when the day nurse came in.

LEFT FOOT AFTER 3 WEEKS
OF TREATMENT

LOOKING MORE GRIZZLED
ALL THE TIME

Of the care aides that I dealt with on this ward, the most amazing one was Marcy.  I never had to use the call bell to ask for anything from her, she just always seemed to show up at just the right time.  If the ice had melted in my water jug, she would bring me a new jug of water.  It’s too bad Ridge Meadows lost her.  She had been there for 27 years and suddenly they started screwing her around on shifts.  The administrators changed the care aides from a 12-hour shift to an 8-hour shift and took them off night shift, which just increased the workload for nurses.  Marcy decided, enough was enough and transferred to Eagle Ridge Hospital.  Their gain, I would say.