Worth More.
A crisis-level staffing shortage is redefining what it means to be a nurse.
Unsafe staffing, impossible workloads - pushed beyond all reasonable limits, nurses have had to sacrifice their own wellbeing for the sake of their patients. It’s all become too much. And with the government’s deliberate and continuing disrespect, many are saying: it’s just not worth it.
Nurses are so done with the devaluing of their service. They’re done with being taken for granted by politicians who have no idea of what it actually takes to do the work. Retaining and recruiting nurses has become health care’s deepest need and most immediate challenge. It’s going to take far better compensation and a real commitment to safe staffing to address this crisis. Because here’s the final word: without nurses, the demands of health care can never be met.
Safe
Staffing
When there aren’t enough nurses and other health-care workers, patients suffer. It’s shocking that Ontario has the lowest nurse-to-population ratio in the country, and ER wait times, the alarming gaps in paediatric care, and the backlog of surgeries are all the direct result of the current nursing crisis. Unsafe staffing forces individual nurses to look after too many people at a time, which means that many patients aren’t getting the amount of attention they need and deserve. It’s imperative for the government to provide more health-care funding so staffing can be increased to safe levels.
BETTER
COMPENSATION
The Ford government’s Bill 124 suppressed the rights and wages of nurses and health-care workers for three years, at exactly the time when they were sacrificing their own wellbeing to care for patients during the pandemic. In response to the government’s punitive legislation, many experienced nurses left the profession. Nearby jurisdictions, like Michigan and New York, are already increasing wages for nurses. If Ontario doesn’t keep pace, even more nurses will leave our system for better opportunities. Retaining nurses is an urgent priority. Nurses want proof that their profession is valued. A significant wage increase in the current round of bargaining will begin to repair three years of government disrespect, helping to turn the nursing shortage around.
Improved mental
HEalth Supports
The past three years have been incredibly tough on nurses. They’ve had to face a “perfect storm” of factors: the turmoil and pressure of the pandemic; increased workloads because of the nursing shortage; moral injury from having to ration patient care; the financial impact of Bill 124. More nurses than ever are reporting that their mental health has been affected - they need support. Employers must recognize this new reality and increase the availability of counselling and other mental health services. Ensuring that nurses are all right is a way of insuring that patients are all right too.
Better
Care
All of the asks that nurses and health-care professionals are expressing at this time - safe staffing, better compensation, improved mental health supports, manageable workloads, safe workplaces - are aimed at restoring the nursing profession to full strength. That’s one of the best and most direct ways of achieving the goal of better patient care.
