North Bay General Hospital faces charges

The North Bay General Hospital has a court date today in relation to Ontario government charges.
A nurses union in the province says it's interested in the outcome of the case.
Further information is included in the following news release from the Ontario Nurses' Association issued Monday:
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Ontario Nurses' Association watching important North Bay Hospital health and safety court case

(Toronto)

The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) will be watching when the North Bay Hospital appears in court on Tuesday to face health and safety charges that ONA believes are an Ontario first.

In March the Ministry of Labour laid six Occupational Health and Safety Act charges against the hospital related to exposure of employees to nitrous oxide in the hospital’s operating rooms.


“We are monitoring these proceedings which we believe are the first such charges laid against an Ontario hospital,” said ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN.


“We support the ministry initiative to prosecute this case and we hope it proceeds quickly. We want the ministry to ensure that the employer is made to take workplace health and safety seriously.”


The Ministry of Labour alleges that the hospital failed to complete workplace health and safety training and failed to meet standards for ventilation. One of the charges relates to failure to establish health and safety measures for workers exposed to agents that may be a hazard during pregnancy. In 2003 the ministry issued six compliance orders against the hospital.


“We don’t know how many ONA members were affected or for how long. We are aware of at least one report of miscarriage during the exposure period,” Haslam–Stroud said.


ONA is the union that represents more than 49,000 registered and graduate nurses and allied health professionals who work in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, community agencies, industry and other settings across Ontario.