BROOKLYN, NY, March 17 — As the capitalist economic crisis deepens, producing hospital closings and millions laid off, nurses at Methodist hospital here conducted informational picketing yesterday demanding increasing staffing to enable them to deliver safe, quality care to their patients.

The nurses are currently negotiating a new contract so they took to the streets to win support from the community and from patients.  Thousands of leaflets were distributed detailing a recent scientific study that reported:

The likelihood of patient deaths increases 31% if a nurse cares for eight patients instead of four;

Inadequate nursing staff is related to 24% of unanticipated patient deaths and permanent loss of functions;

Higher registered nursing staff significantly lowers pressure sores, pneumonia and post-operative and urinary tract infections.

On the picket line, a CHALLENGE reporter another health care worker interviewed one of the nurses and found there is one nurse to ten patients here. “We’re overworked,” she said. “We have to go to the lab and pharmacy to deliver blood samples and pick up medications. Sometimes we have to go to the basement to pick up linen, since the hospital bosses have subcontracted the laundry services and that’s where the clean linen is delivered.”

Questioned about nurse technicians in the hospital, she replied, “The nurse techs also have a heavy workload. There is one tech for fifteen patients or more.  At the end of every shift we feel overwhelmed.”

Noting that there weren’t many nurse techs on the picket line, the nurse said the nurses union hadn’t reached out to the 1199-SEIU members to join the line.”  “That was a mistake,” she declared, “because every worker at this hospital is involved in patient care, from environmental service, food service and other departments. This would have had a greater impact on the hospital bosses.”

Asked about Obama’s health care plan, she said, “I know he wants everyone to have health care insurance, but the plan does not call for building more hospitals and hiring more nurses.”

When it was time to return to work, a PLP member gave the nurse a CHALLENGE, reminding her that all workers need a united plan of action against the hospital bosses and for quality care.  This is especially necessary given increasing layoffs such as that of 250 workers at Brookdale hospital and the recent closing of two Queens’ hospitals.

The 1199-SEIU workers are mostly black and Latino and the nurses’ union is multi-racial, but when a leaflet was submitted to the 1199-SEIU headquarters calling for unity between the two groups, the union leadership rejected it. Rank-and-filers will have to by-pass these sellouts and organize this unity in the fight against racism and the bosses’ attacks.

Capitalism depends on racism and these divisions to reap super-profits. Workers don’t need these bosses, their union lieutenants and the system that sends workers to the scrapheap.