West Coast General Hospital nurses get first-hand look at First Nation health challenges

June 18, 2014

Both nurses are involved in discharge planning at West Coast General Hospital and both found it extremely valuable to see where some First Nations patients are headed when they leave Port Alberni.

“Our main purpose was to see what challenges people have when we discharge them from hospital,” said Contant. “We wanted to see how they get home and what services are provided when they get there.”

Contant, who travelled to Opitsaht on Meares Island, could see that patients with limited mobility would need a great deal of support just to make the boat trip. Boats were tied to each other at the crowded wharf at Opitsaht and she had to climb in an out of several vessels just to reach the dock.  Later, at low tide, she had a steep climb up the ramp from the floating dock.

“If someone had been in a wheelchair or using a walker, they would have needed people to carry them,” Contant said.

Locke travelled to Ahousaht First Nation in Clayoquot Sound where residents rely mainly on boat travel to get to Tofino. “Access to care in their own community is limited and weather can be a huge barrier if they need to get to hospital in Tofino or Port Alberni,” Locke said.

The WCGH nurses found it worthwhile to get a better sense of the people they serve — from learning about travel costs, the time spent in boats and cars or trucks to reach hospital and schedules for health care within their communities.

“We’re advocating for smoother, better discharges for people back into their community, knowing there are limited resources out there,” Contant said.

The “job-shadowing” initiative originated through ongoing engagement between West Coast General Hospital and Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. Hospital staff consult regularly with a Tribal Council community liaison nurse but some said it was hard to envision conditions in the remote communities.

“We have lots of interaction with Nuu-chah-nulth nurses and patients at the hospital,” said WCGH Site Director Ellen Brown. “Going out to spend a day with NTC nurses is a great way to build relationships and reinforce cultural competency.”

Jeannette Tremblay, Home Care Nurse Supervisor for Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, would like to see the shadowing initiative continue.

“All the feedback from our NTC nurses has been positive. They all felt it was good for the nurses from the hospital to share visits and see the areas where people are coming from. They could see the areas of difficulty that people have when they travel back and forth to hospital and how weather can be a factor.”

While WCGH nurses gained a better understanding of the health care challenges, they were also impressed by the dedication of their First Nations colleagues who are working to make the best use of available resources.

“I met some amazing people who work in a holistic centre. They’re really advocating for their people. It’s really inspiring,” Locke said.

Brown said the job-shadowing initiative which began with nurses from the emergency and labour and delivery departments will expand to include psychiatric nurses and possibly physicians in the future.

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Cutline: West Coast General Hospital Registered Nurses Tracy Locke and Isabel Contant accompanied Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council nurses to First Nations communities for a first-hand look at challenges some patients face. (Visit Island Health on Flickr for a larger image.)

Media Contacts:

Media Contact:
Bruce Patterson
Island Health Communications
250-740-6980
Robert.patterson@viha.ca

NT5