Oct. 14: Nurses, marine noise, government service

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Nurses not tempted as easily as children

Re: Firing reversed for nurse who stole narcotics, Oct. 11

Tom Blackwell quotes a lawyer for a registered nurse accused of stealing drugs. He states, “It’s like an occupational hazard to get addicted. It’s like a kid in a candy store for a health-care professional who has ready access (to drugs).”

To compare healthcare professionals to “a kid in a candy store” is the height of arrogant, ill-informed, flippant nonsense.

I practiced as a registered nurse for 50 years. Only twice in that long career was I aware of another RN with an addiction which affected her work — and one was to alcohol. RNs are responsible to their rigid standards of practice. The overall responsibility is advocacy and optimal care for their patients. The very last thing that would ever have crossed my mind would be to steal a narcotic, or any other medication.

Nurses, and anyone else deemed to be addicted, should be held responsible for their actions. The RNs discussed in the article, to the detriment of those patients under their care, contravened their standards of practice. I wouldn’t be comfortable working with these nurses in a professional setting.

Gail Hampson, Chilliwack

Noise-sensitive marine life deserve a break

Re: Scientists lend an ear to secrets of the deep, Oct. 8

I applaud Tom Dakin of University of Victoria’s Ocean Networks Canada and his team for monitoring our local underwater marine noise levels.

We know the noise ships make negatively affect whales. Complaints about SkyTrain noise are regularly received and addressed, yet SkyTrain noise (90 decibels) is only half that generated by ships (up to 190 decibels). Newer car and light truck engines — both gas and diesel — run much quieter today due to consumer demand to reduce noise. We have the technology.

Considering the needs of our marine mammals, it’s high time we adopted a noise abatement program for ships in our waters. If industry can build silent submarines, then ship owners can reduce the noise levels produced by ships’ engines. If we care about whales and other noise-sensitive marine life, we’ll not only install devices to measure ships’ noise levels, but additionally impose a noise tax. The higher the decibels, the higher the tax rate. A portion of the penalties collected could go to help fund UVic’s excellent environmental studies program.

Larri Woodrow, Langley

Passport service ‘above and beyond’

Often I see complaints in the paper about the service at government offices. I would like to praise the women and men who work at the passport offices at the Sinclair Centre. I arrived at 2:30 p.m. to tell them I had a flight to Italy at 3 p.m. the next day, the day my passport would expire. They could not have been kinder or more encouraging. I was told they would do their very best to have my passport ready in time the next day, but could not promise. This of course came with an extra cost. As I was sent forward from one person to another, I was met with kindness, understanding, and good humour. The next morning my passport was ready. That is what I call service above and beyond.

F. E. Allardice, North Vancouver