With the Ford government winning their second majority mandate and Minister Christine Elliott not running for re-election, changes were expected throughout the Ministry of Health. Sylvia Jones’ appointment to Minister of Health has resulted in many staffing changes in key roles.
In response, the Ontario government recently released Plan to Stay Open: Health System Stability and Recovery, which aims to attract 6,000 healthcare workers—including internationally-trained and retired nurses—and increase the number of surgeries done at private-sector clinics.
In May 2022, prior to Premier Ford winning his second majority mandate, WeRPN conducted a comprehensive survey entitled “The State of Nursing in Ontario: A 2022 Review”, which polled more than 760 RPNs in Ontario to assess the state of the healthcare system. Some of the survey results, which WeRPN shared with government officials and policymakers, include the following:
· 68 per cent of nurses say they do not have enough time or resources to allow them to adequately care for patients;
· The nursing shortage has directly impacted 88 per cent of nurses, who have had to work more hours and in more isolating conditions, which is causing them to consider leaving the profession;
· 4 in 5 nurses are experiencing moral distress on the job due to situations where nurses feel that the ethically correct action to take differs from what they are tasked to do;
· 86 per cent of nurses admit that their mental health is being adversely affected by their work, while 67 per cent do not feel like they have enough mental health support;
· 4 in 5 nurses admit that they’ve experienced a breaking point related to their job, a statistic that has increased since the pandemic started;
· Nearly 1 in 2 RPNs are considering leaving the profession, primarily due to wage dissatisfaction.
“While these findings can feel dire, there are concrete actions that can be taken and, in fact, must be taken to restore the quality of healthcare that Ontarians expect,” says Dianne Martin, CEO, WeRPN.
“This is why we at WeRPN are urging the government to commit to a permanent wage increase for RPNs and reverse the dangerous normalization of unsafe workloads that is currently taking place. We must bridge this gap to secure the future of Ontario’s health care system.”
The provincial government’s response was to introduce the More Beds, Better Care Act, 2022 (known as Bill 7), legislating the ability to move elderly patients into long-term care (LTC) homes they have not chosen. Patients can potentially face fees—more than $1800 per day at the hospitals’ discretion— for refusing to move from acute to long-term care.
However, Bill 7 does not address the reasons why nurses are leaving the profession or provide meaningful solutions to Ontario’s health care crisis. “This bill simply normalizes unsafe staffing rates, while the government should be focused on retention strategies to stem the tide of nurses leaving the profession due to unsustainable workloads, thus leaving Ontarians without adequate support,” says Martin.
Opposition politicians and advocates for long-term care residents warned that the plan could potentially harm vulnerable seniors. The plan also neglects to address the reasons why nurses are leaving the profession. The government moved a motion to advance the bill directly to the third reading; therefore, it was not considered by a committee or subject to public hearings, leading to limited debate and engagement from stakeholders.
The government faces many challenges with an uncertain economy experiencing soaring inflation, rising energy prices and interest rates, a labour shortage, an overpriced housing market at risk of sudden decline, and a healthcare system stretched to its limits after two years in a pandemic. We can expect a Fall Economic Statement, which will inform the budget and the annual business planning process this fall.
Nurses may also face further implications leading up to the implementation of Bill 7, including the debate on for-profit versus not-for-profit homes in Ontario and ending aspects of Bill 124. Not to mention, ongoing professional negotiations, including teachers’ negotiations, may or may not affect nursing negotiations when Bill 124 expires in March 2023.
Unfortunately, the Throne Speech did not suggest that Premier Ford and Minister Jones are seeking to repeal Bill 124. So more work needs to be done to ensure that nurses receive a permanent wage increase in 2023.
WeRPN has provided examples of the impact the $3 per hour pandemic pay awarded to PSWs had on compressing the wage differential between RPNs and PSWs. The differential in no way recognizes the knowledge, skill and responsibility that RPNs bring to the workplace.
It has always been WeRPN’s position that nothing short of a wage increase will keep nurses in the profession. While we acknowledge that PSWs are deserving of the increased pay, we are equally frustrated that RPNs are not being included in receiving an increase that is representative of the value they bring to the healthcare system.
WeRPN will continue to press the government to extend the $3 per hour pandemic pay to RPNs retroactively—as well as push for a provincial minimum wage for RPNs that is proportional to an RN wage.
We will never waver in our advocacy for quality working environments, including staffing levels and compensation for RPNs.
