Opposition Senator Kim Swan has voiced concern over the long hours nursing staff in the intensive care unit (ICU) are expected to work.

He said pilots were only allowed to fly an aircraft for eight hours at a time, yet nurses on high-risk wards were allowed to work much longer periods.

The Royal Gazette reported yesterday how staff shortages had led to low morale in the ICU at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

One nurse at the hospital said ICU nurses were expected to work 12-hour shifts without a break, and regularly asked to go back into the department just a few hours later to work an additional shift.

She said, as a result, nurses were stressed and fearful of making a mistake.

The rate of sickness had also risen, she said.

But Sen. Swan said just as pilots were responsible for people's lives, so too were nurses, especially those in intensive care.

He said: "It's very concerning to me that nurses are being expected to work such long periods, especially without a break.

"We don't let pilots do it, so why do we allow nurses. This is a matter of life or death.

"We should not be jeopardising patient care. The well being of the staff and the patients is at risk.

"The nurses will be prone to make an error, and I wonder who would be liable if that happened.

"I sincerely hope to see these vacancies filled as soon as possible and steps taken to ensure that the ICU does not become so strapped again. It is too important to get it wrong.'' Chief Executive Officer of the hospital Stephanie Reid accepted that the ward was understaffed at the moment, but said three experienced, specially trained nurses were due to start in April.

The problem, she said, was that two nurses were off on long-term sickness and two nurses had recently left after receiving offers they could not refuse to go and work overseas.

And the problem was exacerbated last week when two other ICU nurses went on short term sick.

Nurses from other wards have been drafted to cover, and, where possible, nurses with ICU experience are being called on to help first.

The situation had not reached crisis point, she said, and patient care had not been compromised, however, she understood the nurses' fears and said she would be meeting with them soon.

And Mrs. Reid also said she wanted to employ one or two additional ICU nurses because there was always more work to be done, and she said they would be there to cover should people leave.

However, also on the agenda was the possibility of using agency nurses when times got hard with staff shortages.

But Director of the hospital's clinical programme Lucille Parker said the very nature of the job meant that sometimes nurses had to work long hours and without a break.

She said if demand was there, then nurses would naturally put patients before themselves and miss their break.

However, she said nurses were never expected to work through an entire day, 24 hours, without a break period.

She said: "In order to allow for coverage, a nurse may be asked to come back for another seven hours. But there is always a period of rest.'' The disgruntled nurse, who did not wish to be named, said Bermuda was not offering competitive packages in order to retain and entice nurses to the Island, but she also said the accommodation block was lacking.

She said: "It is shabby, dirty and lacking in privacy. Bermuda cannot even offer nurses anywhere decent to live.'' But Mrs. Reid said funding had already been set aside to completely refurbish the accommodation block this year.

And she said the Bermuda Hospitals Board was looking at the possibility of offering better incentives.

Yesterday, General Secretary of the Bermuda Public Services Association, Ed Ball, said he was concerned about the situation, but confident that the hospital management was doing all it could to improve staffing.

He said: "We are monitoring the situation. We are hoping that as soon as possible we can recruit nurses.

"Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, are offering top dollars to attract nurses. But we are not alone in the shortage. Even Canada is having problems recruiting.

"There is a worldwide shortage, as we have been saying for quite some time.'' Shadow Health Minister Kim Young urged the board to pull out all the stops and make nursing in Bermuda attractive.

But she also said it was not good enough to just accept that nurses had to work long hours and without a break.

She said: "We need to be able to compete, otherwise something terrible is going to happen.

"These nurses in ICU cannot work at this pace for very long. Something is going to give. They are human. Patient care is at risk. This must be addressed as a matter of urgency.'' Kim Swan