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We Are Advocates

What to expect this session

Between the response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation and the government’s ambitious health transformation plans, we’ve seen a lot of activity from Queen’s Park over the last few months. As always, we strive to keep our members informed about a number of updates that have emerged and keep you up to date on how we are continuing to advocate on your behalf to our health leaders and decision-makers.

Launching Ontario Health Teams

Last year, the government announced plans to overhaul Ontario’s health system in an effort to bring about more integrated, patient-centered care. This strategy involved the creation of a new health super agency — Ontario Health — which would oversee the government’s transformation agenda.

Over the fall, we saw the government move one step closer to the implementation of that strategy by announcing the first cohort of 24 Ontario Health Teams — each of which will be rolling out the government’s new model of organizing and delivering health care across Ontario. According to the Ministry “through an Ontario Health Team, patients will experience easier transitions from one provider to another, including, for example, between hospitals and home care providers, with one patient story, one patient record, and one care plan”. The province continues to move forward with the implementation of Ontario Health, the new superagency which will ensure consistency of care across Ontario.

WeRPN continues to work closely with the Ministry of Health and monitor updates as the government moves forward with the implementation of this transformation to ensure the perspectives of RPNs are at the forefront.

Expanding Access to Nursing Education

For the past several years, we have been calling on the government to take steps to make nursing education more accessible for students and RPNs, particularly to those in rural and remote communities.

This winter, we were pleased to see the government answer our call. In February, WeRPN’s CEO, Dianne Martin, joined the Honourable Ross Romano, Minister of Colleges and Universities and other stakeholders at Georgian College where the Minister announced that the government would be introducing a new policy to allow Ontario colleges to grant Bachelor of Nursing degrees.

This announcement removes some of the barriers that RPNs have identified with regard to accessing ongoing education. This also provides exciting new opportunities to help educate future RNs in communities that are already experiencing nursing shortages. Allowing colleges to grant nursing degrees will give prospective nursing students and RPNs more choice and the ability to complete their nursing education closer to home, keeping nurses in those communities that need them most.

We are currently waiting for further details regarding the implementation of this new policy and the timelines. What the government has shared so far is that for this policy to take effect, the Ministry of Health must work with the College of Nurses to amend a regulation made under the Nursing Act, 1991 but no timeline has been released for this.

Following the change in legislation, colleges that are interested in offering nursing degrees will have to develop those curriculums and submit them to the Ministry for approval. We expect that the timing for this will vary from college to college. We will continue to monitor this closely and will be sure to share information with RPNs as soon as further details are available. WeRPN will also be working closely with all parties to make sure that we build more streamlined pathways for RPNs to bridge to the RN role.

Examining Staffing in Long Term Care

In 2018, WeRPN was an active participant in the Public Inquiry into the Safety and Security of Residents in the Long-Term Care Homes System, advocating on behalfof RPNs. Last summer, we saw Commissioner Gillese release her final report, including 91 recommendations for ways to increase the safety of those residents in Long Term Care (LTC).

This winter, the Minister of Long Term Care, Merrilee Fullerton, provided an update on the Ministry’s progress in implementing these recommendations. As of February, the Ministry has completed 18 of the 91 recommendations. Included among the actions was a new directive released by the Ministry regarding glucagon, severe hypoglycemia and unresponsive hypoglycemia that aims to put in place best practices for safe insulin policies, including clear expectations on training for and reporting of insulin-related medication incidents

Another key recommendation that the Ministry has moved on is the establishment of a Long-Term Care Staffing Study Advisory Group to help craft a staffing strategy for LTC. In February, the Ministry announced that an expert advisory group comprised of front-line providers would be working closely with the Ministry and stakeholders to put forward a staffing strategy by June 2020. Among this group of professionals is WeRPN member and RPN Anita Plunkett. Anita currently teaches the personal support worker program through the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario and has done so for nine years. She is also an advanced and diabetic foot care nurse. We’re thankful to have her representing the voice of RPNs at this important table.

WeRPN has presented recommendations on LTC staffing to the advisory group and looks forward to continuing to engage with the Ministry to support the development of this important staffing strategy.

Ontario’s Response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Since the new year, WeRPN has been working closely with the Ministry of Health’s Emergency Operations Centre and other health partners to strengthen Ontario’s response to COVID-19 and ensure that nurses and other health professionals and those they care for are protected.

Since the beginning of March, the government attention has moved away from health transformation to focus almost exclusively on containing the pandemic, and this is where we expect attention to remain for the foreseeable.

For RPNs seeking additional information, we have created a dedicated page on our website that includes links to a variety of Ministry guidance documents for acute care, long-term care, home care, and public health. We have also launched daily communications updates to ensure that RPNs have access to the latest information. We encourage members to visit www.werpn.com to access the latest information and resources.

We know we will likely face uncertainty for the weeks and months ahead. During that time, you can count on us to keep you updated on key directions and policy changes coming from the government. We are all in this together!