COVID-19 crisis in hospitals could cause ‘exodus’ of nurses, unions say
Almost a third of nurses are considering potentially leaving their professions due to a lack of supports, a recent Hamilton survey by a hospital workers' union found.
A poll by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/CUPE (OCHU) - the hospital division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees - released Tuesday found disturbing trends in the experiences of registered practical nurses (RPNs) working in hospitals during COVID-19.
Among the 750 Hamilton respondents, 30 per cent said they were considering" or maybe considering" leaving nursing - roughly the same percentage for Ontario overall. The biggest reason in both cases was inadequate pay.
Your team is falling apart actively in front of you,'" said Sonja Bernhard, an RPN at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton at a joint OCHU/CUPE and SEIU Healthcare news conference. I have fully supported my team members who said, I'm out. I can't do it. I'm done.'"
Earlier in the pandemic, Bernhard was deployed to Shalom Village during St. Joseph's takeover of the Westdale long-term-care home.
It was a little daunting until I got there," said the former personal support worker. And then it was completely and absolutely terrifying."
Bernhard said she was responsible for a pod" of 12 residents, all who were COVID-positive. She worked 16-hour shifts and stayed in a hotel over the holidays to protect her family.
I cried in the shower a few times during my stay there," she said.
Currently, hospitals are overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. Surgeries are being scaled back to make room in critical care. Both St. Joe's and Hamilton Health Sciences have expanded their ICU beds. The two hospital systems have accepted a combined 265 patient transfers from other regions, and a field hospital is under construction in Hamilton to help clear space for more.
Staff have been redeployed from other areas to work in ICUs.
The CUPE poll also found that 93 per cent of RPNs both in Hamilton and across the province had worked continuously since the pandemic began in March 2020. In both cases, 81 per cent of RPNs reported their workloads increased a lot" in the last year. More than 85 per cent of respondents both in Hamilton and across Ontario said the potential for medical errors also increased in the last year.
More than half of the Hamilton respondents said their mental health was poor," compared to 45 per cent of Ontario respondents.
OCHU president Michael Hurley noted health-care workers have been disproportionately exposed to COVID-19 while being denied safety nets such as sick pay.
According to Public Health Ontario, there have been almost 22,300 COVID-19 cases in health-care workers as of May 1. More than 400 have been hospitalized with 92 ending up in ICU.
There was a crisis in health care before the pandemic and now ... it has become critical," said SEIU president Sharleen Stewart.
SEIU and OCHU demanded the province to offer RPNs full-time jobs in hospitals with permanent wage increases, higher staffing levels and supports for mental health.
Stewart warned inaction would mean dire consequences.
Our hospitals are about to experience an exodus of registered practical nurses."
Maria Iqbal's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report on stories focused on aging issues. Reach her via email: miqbal@thespec.com.