FRAMINGHAM - Registered nurses at Framingham Union Hospital have submitted a complaint to state and federal agencies, contending that conditions at the site are dangerous to patients.

Local nurses were joined by officials with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), the largest union in the state for registered nurses, during a press conference outside of the hospital on Monday, September 16. The association contends that over the past nine months, local nurses have reported that staffing shortages, hospital policies, and delays from administrative officials in providing proper medical resources have resulted in unsafe conditions for people admitted to Framingham Union Hospital.

MNA President Katie Murphy spoke during Monday’s press conference, explaining that nurses at Framingham Union face these problems on a “daily basis.”

“Too many of their patients are left unattended and unmonitored,” Murphy said.

“They are not receiving their medications on time, or at all. They are pushing call buttons, writhing in pain, waiting for a nurse who wants to respond and be at their side but can’t—because they are taking care of too many other patients or because no nurse has been assigned to watch over them.”

The MNA is calling for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to intervene at the facility, which is owned by the Texas-based company Tenet Healthcare Corp. as a part of MetroWest Medical Center alongside Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick. MNA leaders are demanding the DPH to provide daily overwatch at Framingham Union Hospital, while also requesting DPH Commissioner Robbie Goldstein to sit down with local nurses to gain direct and consistent feedback on conditions at the site.

“These conditions are abhorrent by any medical or nursing standard and the nurses of Framingham Union Hospital are both outraged and overwhelmed by the suffering they have endured,” Associate Director for the MNA’s Division of Nursing Mary Sue Howlett wrote in the official complaint, which can be found in its entirety here.

In response to the complaint, MetroWest Medical Center provided the following quote to The Frame:

“MetroWest Medical Center remains focused on continuing to provide high-quality care. We are grateful for the dedicated physicians, nurses and staff who prioritize patient care every day. We do not condone the MNA’s actions to try to discredit our high-quality organization.”

Tenet had previously been the subject of criticism from other MNA-represented nurses at their facilities in Massachusetts, as official complaints were filed by nurses at Worcester’s Saint Vincent Hospital earlier this year.

The recent complaint stemming from Framingham Union Hospital is the latest development in a saga that saw nurses at the facility vote in favor of forming a union back in January. Local nurses and residents have criticized Tenet for the state of Framingham Union Hospital and other medical facilities in the area.

MetroWest Medical Center CEO John Whitlock and CEO for Tenet’s Massachusetts market Carolyn Jackson were invited to speak during a public hearing with the Framingham City Council at the start of the year in regards to healthcare concerns raised within the community. Jackson had previously pointed to economic hardships and labor shortages as some challenges Tenet has had to navigate, though city officials and nurses maintained criticism of improper working conditions.