Nurse practitioners want to be part of the solution, northern MPP says
Nov. 10-16 is National Nurse Practitioners’ week in Canada and officials say now is a key time to recognize the many contributions NPs make to the health-care system and their potential to fill the gaps in access to primary care.
"There's close to 40,000 people in Sudbury-Nickel Belt who don't have access to primary care yet," said Nickel Belt MPP and NDP Health Critic France Gelinas.
"We have underemployed nurse practitioners who would love nothing better than to look after us, to take thousands of people who don't have access and give them access. They asked for very modest amount of money from the government to give access to thousands of people on their waitlist, and they can't even get an answer back."
On Tuesday, Gelinas brought up the topic in Ontario Legislature. nurse practitioner Amanda Rainville, who is executive director of the Capreol Nurse Practitioner Clinic, was on hand as were more than 20 other NPs.
"I attended Queen's Park to advocate for nurse practitioners on behalf of the Nurse Practitioners Association of Ontario," Rainville said.
"NPS went to school for a long time and their compensation, hasn't really caught up with our increased scope of practice. And it's not only our nurse practitioners that are severely underfunded. We're really struggling in the community sector to retain and recruit staff members because all of our positions are about 15 to 30 per cent below market value."
Unlike doctors, she said NPs are paid a salary instead of billing per patient.
"We're not only advocating for our own compensation, we're also advocating for innovative funding models," Rainville said.
"Nurse practitioners are usually ministry-funded or there's funding set aside in the hospital global budget for nurse practitioners. But if a nurse practitioner wants to … serve under-serviced areas, they don't have any mechanism to do that. So some nurse practitioners have opened up private clinics, not because they want to, but because there's a need for primary care or tertiary care in communities without any public funds coming their way."
The Parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health, Anthony Leardi said the government continues to make more progress and do more.
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
"We know that approximately 90 per cent of everybody in the Province of Ontario has primary care, part of which is delivered by nurse practitioners," Leardi said.
"We've funded the largest expansion of nurse practitioner care in the history of the province of Ontario."
Gelinas is encouraging everyone in her riding to visit her website or phone her office -- she even suggests writing to the minister to have their voices heard.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bank of Canada drops key interest rate
Canada’s central bank has cut interest rates for the fifth consecutive time as the country's economy grows at a slower rate than projected.
Saudi Arabia officially announced as the 2034 World Cup host. Human rights groups warn of 'unimaginable human cost'
Global soccer governing body FIFA has officially announced the hosts for the next two men's World Cups. However, the outcome was no surprise.
Canada Post strike continues as sides clash on wages
Negotiations between Canada Post and the union representing its workers appear to be in a deadlock as the two sides remain far apart on wages and other issues.
Poilievre's Conservatives still in majority territory: Nanos seat projections
The Liberals' promise of a temporary GST break and $250 rebate cheques haven't benefited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his minority government when it comes to public support, according to Nanos Research data.
5 suspected organized crime figures arrested for 3 Montreal and Quebec homicides
Montreal and Quebec police arrested five suspects they believe have organized crime ties in connection with three homicides in 2023 and 2024.
Boy, 8, killed in crash involving snow plow on B.C.'s icy Highway 3
An eight-year-old boy has died following a crash between a snow plow dump truck and a car on B.C.'s Highway 3.
'Baseball-sized hail': Toronto man owes car rental company $18K after hailstorm
A Toronto man is on the hook for about $18,000 after a car he rented over the summer was pelted by baseball-sized hail.
New Vancouver mom temporarily discharged from hospital to see Taylor Swift concert
A Vancouver woman didn’t let an emergency C-section keep her from Saturday’s Taylor Swift concert.
'He lost his spirit': Family wants answers after Indigenous man's braids cut at Edmonton hospital
The Saskatchewan family of an Indigenous man whose braids were cut off during a stay at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, without permission, is searching for answers.