THUNDER BAY — More than 60 per cent of nurses in Ontario are prepared to leave the profession according to a new poll, which could have significant impacts on patient care.
“We all have an exit plan,” said Ashley Hill, vice president of health and hospital sector of nursing division of Service Employees International Union.
“We are looking for better working conditions and a better living wage and equitable wage for what we do in order to keep doing the work we do.”
Registered practical nurses and local representatives of SEIU and the Canadian Union of Public Employees held a media conference outside the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre on Monday in advance of nursing week, which starts on May 8.
“We are out here today because registered practical nurses have had enough,” said Jackie Walker, nursing division president at SEIU Health Care.
“We just did a poll with our comrades at CUPE. The poll showed 81 per cent of nurses are feeling high stress, and 61 per cent — or six out of 10 — said they are ready to walk away from the profession if conditions don’t change.”
The poll was conducted by Nanos Research of more than 1,000 registered practical nurses across Ontario.
Walker said if more registered practical nurses leave the profession, it will mean longer wait times for patients and even the closure of emergency rooms, which has already happened in other parts of the province.
“They are all saying the same thing, we are fed up,” she said.
“We need better patient ratios, a more sustainable plan to keep nurses at the bed side, and part of that plan is to pay nurses a better wage,” Hill added.
Nurses across the province are calling on health care employers and the provincial government to take action now and improve working conditions and increase the minimum wage for RPNs.
“We’re say pay registered practical nurses for the work they do and stop exploiting them for their knowledge, skill, and experience,” Walker said. “That is why we are calling on employers, the Ontario Hospital Association, and the government to pay registered practical nurses a minimum of $35 an hour across the province, across every sector.”
