Conditions inside, bad and getting worse

All the security guards in the world can't stop cell phones, email and the good old fashioned grapevine from revealing what's going on in the struck hospitals. And the picture being painted from inside is not pretty. At Sutter California Campus, one of our picket captains shared a handwritten note with me that was passed to him from an RN who works in labor and delivery. "We usually have one to three EVS workers taking care of needs in labor & delivery. Now we have 27 scabs, and still they can't get the trash taken out," said the writer, noting it took more than seven hours to get overflowing garbage removed from the ante partum unit. The RN reported the hospital was having trouble with food distribution. "Bedside meals are running very late, and diabetics are being sent regular diets."

On this blog, UHW member Emily Stone, a longtime psychiatric technician at Pacific Campus, reported from the line that she's in contact with the inside. What her sources describe from inside is chaos and unsanitary conditions. "You learn how important a clean bathroom is when you're sick and hospitalized," a Pacific Campus patient relayed to Emily. "Yesterday, on the lines, I talked with a woman who had dialysis three times weekly, and I was touched by her support for us in the midst of her own troubles."

Daily incidents such as these show that UHW members have the support of their patients in the fight against Sutter CPMC.

Another comment on this blog, from a six-year CPMC nursing aide, asks why "it took a scab replacement four hours to do one round of vitals, when the usual time is 60-75 minutes? Thanks to cell phones, we get calls from inside telling us about deteriorating conditions and inadequate care. We know about garbage piling up until it's picked up by $45 an hour RNs—who are learning fast why we're on strike."

Do you have CPMC horror stories to share? Use this blog to tell us what you're hearing and seeing.

Sal Rosselli

Comments

[joseph]

I was on the picket today at the East Campus and one of the RN's went down and told us that a replacement worker forgot to report that a patient has a very low blood pressure,the attending doctor found out and was furious. They have to call an ambulance to transfer said patient to Pacific campus.