Registered nurses at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital held a car parade on Friday to protest the hospital’s use of a state waiver to allow higher nurse-to-patient ratios during the coronavirus pandemic.

The nurses are urging Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital to staff for safe patient care, and not use the pandemic as an excuse to put patients at serious risk, according to California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU), a union representing nearly 700 nurses at Henry Mayo.
On Dec. 11, California officials announced the state would allow hospitals to submit “expedited waivers” that will let them dramatically increase nurses’ workloads.

Under “expedited waivers,” hospitals can increase the workload of already overburdened nurses. By the mere submission of a form, hospitals can require nurses in intensive care units and throughout the hospital setting to unsafely care for too many patients at one time.

Photo courtesy of California Nurses Association/National Nurses United

California is the only state in the country to require by law a specific number of nurses to patients in every hospital unit. It requires hospitals to provide one nurse for every two patients in intensive care and one nurse for every four patients in emergency rooms, according to the American Nursing Association.

Those ratios, nurses say, have helped reduce errors and protect the safety of patients and nurses.

Nurses are calling on the California Department of Public Health to immediately rescind all waivers of safe staffing standards.

“Exceeding the staffing ratios has led to nurses unable to eat at times, get water or use the restroom, increased illnesses, and further perpetuates the staffing crisis,” said Clarissa Simpson, an RN in the ICU unit at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. “With the recent 60-day waiver approval at Henry Mayo, nurses now have too many patients, and are unable to provide the best possible care based on their needs.”

Under current labour laws, at the very least California employers must authorize and permit all employees to take rest periods at the rate of 10 minutes of rest for every four hours the employee works.

“With more patients comes more responsibility,” said Simpson. “We’re facing a shortage of staffing, which is contributing to the need for nurses taking care of more patients, and these  patients are very sick, especially in the ICU or if they have COVID. A lot of nurses, because they are taking care of all these patients while there are less resources, they are going entire shifts without taking a break.”

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital is appreciative of the efforts that staff put forward every day in the face of unprecedented adversity, though that the hospital is complying with safety regulations are required by law, according to Patrick Moody, spokesperson for the hospital.

“As is widely reported, every hospital in California is dealing with unprecedented patient volumes,” said Moody. “We are grateful to the hundreds of dedicated Henry Mayo employees and medical staff members who are performing heroically, day-after-day, to take care of every Henry Mayo patient under extremely challenging circumstances.  As always Henry Mayo is complying with all state and federal health regulations.”

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