Angry Quebec nurses push for lower patient ratios and less overtime
MONTREAL — Veronique Brouillard says she loves being an auxiliary nurse.
But between the constant requests to work overtime, calls that interrupt her vacations, and a heavy and stressful workload, the 36-year-old mother of three said she’s exhausted, stressed — and furious.
“We have no life,” she said. “One day off in a week, and they call us four times (asking us) to come in for extra work. I’ve had enough.”
She was one of several dozen health care workers who stood on a Montreal street corner on Friday night waving signs and loudly expressing their anger over staff shortages and working conditions that they say are causing them to burn out and are compromising their ability to care for patients.