However, after several interview requests, the Ontario Minister of Health finally responded to The Canadian Press. She says she is exploring various solutions, including adding foreign nurses.
Closed units
Cathryn Hoy, provincial president of the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA), said Monday that hospitals have had to close some units, reduce the number of beds or refer patients to other facilities.
And disaster
according to her, who specifies that the shortages of personnel noted in the hospitals of the province this weekend will only worsen.
It has to stop now, really… Nurses are leaving every day
said Ms. Hoy, whose association represents 68,000 nurses and health professionals and 18,000 affiliated student nurses. If this continues and there is not the slightest sign of hope from the government, it will only get worse.
The September long weekend looks like this horrible
.
The minister emerges from her silence
Ontario’s new health minister Sylvia Jones spoke to The Canadian Press on Tuesday as opposition MPs call on her to provide tangible solutions to what they see as a crisis in the health care system. provincial health.
CBC has contacted Jones’ office several times for an interview regarding the staffing shortages at Ontario hospitals. The requests were all denied.
Ms Jones told The Canadian Press that her role over the past few weeks has been to meet with organizations and people in the sector who have solutions and listen to their feedback.
According to Jones, the job is to do what the government has already done for the past four years, including increasing the number of workers in the system. According to her, the provincial government has added more than 10,000 workers since the start of the pandemic.
She indicates that the government will introduce additional measures
to build capacity, and specifically mentions a backlog of internationally trained health workers awaiting certification.
Limited salary increases
One problem with the nursing shortage stems, Hoy said, from Bill 124, which limits annual salary increases for nurses and would reduce the attractiveness of the profession.
This law, which was signed into law in 2019, caps wage increases for provincial employees, including nurses, at 1% per year, which is below the rate of inflation.
The government needs to sit down with us, pay substantial salaries, consider hiring staff and changing some programs, because people need rest
she said.
Ms. Jones, in an interview with The Canadian Press, said discussions related to Bill 124 are for another day
.
Shortages of medical personnel are at the root of the difficulty in maintaining services in hospitals, according to health organizations. (Archives)
Photo : Radio-Canada / Colin Arber
—
Doris Grinspun, CEO of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, said Monday that the nursing shortage has reached a critical point.
She hopes an upcoming meeting with Ontario government ministers, including new health minister Sylvia Jones, will help get things moving.
« We need leaps and bounds, which means a multitude of solutions. Nor can these solutions wait for the resumption of the legislature on August 8. They have to happen now. »
Doug Ford criticized for his inaction
For their part, the Ontario Liberals accuse l’inaction
Minister and Premier Doug Ford. Measures such as the repeal of Bill 124 and increased resources allocated to primary care could be taken now to reduce pressure on the health care system and help prevent another collapse in the fall
the party said in a statement.
The political formation also accuses the absence of Doug Ford, who sends to health workers the message thathe doesn’t care about them
.
–
