North Bay hospital needs 300 workers to address staffing crisis, union says
Unless 300 people a year are hired, the staffing crisis at North Bay's hospital will only get worse, says the union representing hospital workers.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said Tuesday that problems at the North Bay Regional Health Centre, including spiking emergency room wait times, will only get worse.
Speaking Tuesday outside the hospital, Dave Verch, an RPN and the first vice-president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, said wait times have increased by 47 per cent in the last year alone.
“We need the public to be aware of this issue and bring it forward to their MPPs,” Verch said.
“We need this government to take action and take action now."
CUPE said it calculated the need for 300 staff hires based on what it describes as “available government and hospital data.”
It said there are equal concerns that more than $1.6 billion in provincial COVID-19 money that helped hospitals deal with the additional will be eliminated in 2023.
There were more than 80 hospital ER and unit closures province-wide this summer.
“We have done more with less than every other province in this country and now we're seeing the exodus so high that it's absolutely a crisis situation," said Verch.
Overall, the union said 46,000 people must be hired just to deal with a nearly 15 per cent turnover rate. The union is calling on the province to maintain the extra funding and to scrap Bill 124, the provincial law that caps public sector wage increases at one per cent.
“The number of resignations would go down and hospitals would not have to recruit so many new staff to deal with the unprecedented turnover rates and increased needs of an aging and growing population,” Verch said.
In a statement to CTV News, the hospital acknowledged staffing pressures but said it has not had to close its emergency department or cancel services.
“We are feeling the strain,” said hospital spokesperson Kim McElroy.
“We currently have 164 vacancies and half of these are RNs or RPNs. We are working on some innovative recruitment solutions to continue to provide the best care to the people we serve.”
A request for comment from the Ministry of Health was not provided by publication time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Five areas Canada's foreign interference commissioner says needs more investigation
Commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue released her interim report examining foreign election interference on Friday. Here are five elements of the issue that Hogue says she needs to further probe before she can make conclusions or recommendations.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Why your airfare may be getting more expensive
Skyrocketing airfare prices are linked to heightened competition and rising food and fuel, according to the CAA.
New weight-loss drug Wegovy not a 'magic bullet,' doctor warns
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
2 charged after police find 'concerning and diverse' explosives at Manitoba home
Winnipeg police say they have arrested two people in their 20s after a large amount of explosives were found in a home outside of Winnipeg, Man.