Halifax-area nurses are going public with their contract dispute with the government.

The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union says nine days at the table with little or no negotiating has left them with no choice.

Kerri Webster-McIsaac has worked in the ICU for 17 years. For the most part, she says it is very well staffed, but there are pressures.

“People are with us for days to weeks. We get them to a point where they look really good, they go out to the floor and because of the lack of ability to stay on top of their care, they do bounce back and have more complications,” says McIsaac.

She says, because nurses who call in sick are not replaced, nurses on some floors don’t have the time they should to spend at each bedside. 

The NSGEU, which represents 2,300 nurses at Capital Health, has launched TV ads to get their message out.

“We're making this campaign very public because public safety's at risk,” says NSGEU president Joan Jessome.

She says there are three key issues at hand.

“Replacing sick call, around scheduling, and around mandated patient ratios,” says Jessome.

Capital Health’s chief nursing officer Mary Ellen Gurnham says mandated nurse-to-patient ratios is the wrong solution.

“It doesn't take into account that there are more members of the family of nursing who also support the nursing care of the patient, it doesn't take into account the inter-professional team,” says Gurnham. “I have no evidence that patient safety is at risk.”

The ads also take aim at the Nova Scotia Liberals.

“Well, we're going to continue to allow the collective bargaining process to happen, which is happening now. It’s unfortunate that there is so much negotiation going on by the president of the NSGEU in public,” says Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil.

Jessome says, after nine days at the table and with the Essential Home Services Act passed by the government two weeks ago, they have no choice.

“They're setting the stage, absolutely setting the stage for a showdown with nurses and patients, putting patient safety at risk,” says Jessome.

Three days have been set aside for conciliation. That process gets underway next week. If a deal isn't reached, both sides are scheduled to head back to the table March 25.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster