Hospital staffing crisis reaching 'breaking point' in Ontario, union says
CBC
A union representing Ontario hospital workers is calling for an injection of funding into the province's health-care system to help curtail what they call a worsening staffing crisis.
CUPE's Ontario Council of Hospital Unions says its members — which includes registered practical nurses, personal support workers and clerical staff — are experiencing crushing workloads in understaffed hospitals and the situation is taking a toll on their well-being.
Secretary-treasurer Sharon Richer says a recent survey of more than 750 members indicates 26 per cent of respondents have considered leaving their jobs and 41 per cent dread going to work because of the heavy workload. The survey response rate was three per cent.
"The results of this survey are alarming and illustrate the gravity of staffing crises that have been years in the making, but which is now reaching a new breaking point," Richer said at a press conference Wednesday.
"This survey confirms that workers are deeply unhappy about their working conditions with profound consequences on their mental health."
As the union bargains for a new contract, it's calling on the government to increase full-time staff in hospitals and to follow British Columbia's lead by bringing in mandated minimum staff-to-patient ratios.
The province's nurses are among the highest paid nursing workforces in Canada, a spokesperson for Ontario's minister of health said in a statement to CBC Toronto.
The spokesperson also pointed to the addition of 15,000 nurses in 2023.
The union wants the province to invest $1.25 billion annually over the next four years on top of inflation.
The province's independent fiscal watchdog has said the government needs to add more than 86,000 nurses and personal support workers by 2028 to get back to pre-pandemic staff levels and meet commitments to expand hospitals, home care and long-term care.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.