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    • Nov 18, 2022
    • 2 min read

Ontario's Healthcare Crisis

What does emergency care mean to you? Quick and reliable service? Attentive nurses and doctors?


Well, with many Ontario hospitals operating at critical levels due to nurse shortages, the reliability of emergency care in Ontario is being questioned by the province's public. Average hospital wait times are at an all-time high, with the length of stay for admitted patients increased by 48.2%. We’ve also seen an increase in cases of COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory illness, as Ontario hospitals are swamped with limited resources.

Nurses are the first point of contact for most hospital visits, and with the province facing a shortage of nurses due to limited resources, long hours, and unsatisfactory wages, how can we ensure the healthcare service provided is sufficient, without burning out our nurses?


Here are our suggestions:


Increase wages

- A look at Bill 124, wage suppression legislation, we can see limited wage increases of one percent of total compensation for each of three years.

- With respect to the work that our nurses provide, we believe an increase in wages is a great incentive, which will not only help to retain our nurses but help improve morale.


Nurse retention and recruitment

- Let's face it, we need more nurses.

- We have seen the government expanding nursing school availability and placements, as well as recruitment initiatives for rural and long-term care nursing roles.


Reduced overtime hours

- With more nurses, we can reduce the number of additional hours each has to work, due to shortages.

- Reducing overtime hours allows our nurses to rest and refuel to help keep our healthcare system from falling apart.


Let’s discuss this. What other suggestions do you think can help us better our healthcare system?




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