Hospital Employee Union president Barb Nederpel posing with Bill Sundhu, during a rally Monday night in support of healthcare workers outside of Royal Inland Hospital. (Photo by Barb Nederpel)
For staff at Royal Inland Hospital who were working last night, a few dozen people with uplifting signs made their day.
President of the Hospital Employees Union Barb Nederpal, who’s based in Kamloops, said about 50 people came out to RIH on Monday night – masked, spread out, and with placards that said “we love healthcare workers,” among other messages.
Nederpal said the rally was “absolutely heartwarming.”
She said it was especially nice to see after a protest last week with hundreds of people opposed to vaccines and new restrictions to non-essential businesses for people who are unvaccinated.
“After the protest that happened, we heard from many of our members – and members of the public as well – about how demoralizing that protest was. And they were just truly heartbroken from the lack of support, and the fact that it disrupted their workplaces so terribly. It was dangerous,” Nederpal said.
“In comparison, to have everybody coming out, and they were happy and they were smiling and laughing and clapping as workers were coming in and workers were leaving, there were tears coming from the workers. There were waves and honks, and there was a real appreciation. The appreciation coming from the community for the healthcare workers, that was what was important.”
This was the second small-scale rally in support of healthcare workers in the past week. Last Thursday, a group gathered outside of the hospital with placards to support and encourage staff there.
