could be put at risk because the Operating Room was so short-staffed.

The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Operating Room nurses have placed a large ad in The Royal Gazette today defending their dedication to patients and dismissing last Wednesday's page-three Sun article as "incorrect''.

"We find this article very disturbing and want to express our feelings to the community,'' the ad reads. "The information contained in that article is incorrect and is the opinion of only one nurse.

"It does not reflect the opinions of all of the dedicated, professional, hard working nurses in the Operating Room at KEMH.'' The group of nurses -- led by clinical coordinator Christine Skinner -- stressed that no issue would distract them from their primary focus -- the quality of care to patients.

"The first priority of the Operating Room nurses is our patients and at no time would we allow the care of our patients to be compromised in any way.

"Recruiting efforts are an on-going process and most of our recruiting efforts, of necessity, take place overseas.

"Therefore, there is sometimes a gap in time between when a member of staff leaves and when a new member arrives.'' They explained that it was sometimes necessary for nurses to be on call so the emergency facilities could be offered around the clock as they were needed -- to best help patients in dire circumstances.

"The operating room is a 24 hour department and it has always been the practice that the nurses `take call' to cover for emergencies.

"Hours of work and scheduling are adjusted when needed. This is to ensure that there is always appropriate staffing available for our patients.'' They lambasted the nurse who leaked the information and said they took "pride in the service we provide to this community''.

UNIONS UNS