ONTARIO—A new poll suggests that nearly half of healthcare workers in Northern Ontario are considering leaving their jobs in 2025. More than 750 hospital workers with Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) participated in the survey and included registered practical nurses, personal support workers, housekeepers and clerical staff. Seventy percent of workers that participated in the survey said that the hospital they work at are chronically understaffed and that the quality of patient care is suffering.
“The survey confirms that workers are very unhappy around their working conditions with a profound consequence on their mental health,” said Sharon Richer, secretary-treasurer for the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, at a press conference in Sudbury.
Northern Ontario healthcare workers are more distressed than others in the province. Fifty-eight percent of survey takers in Northern Ontario said that they dread going to work every day, compared to the 41 percent provincial average. Sixty-two percent of those polled said that they are suffering from exhaustion due to overwork and 44 percent are having difficulty sleeping.
“We’re hearing from our members that many workers are breaking down crying in their cars,” Ms. Richer said.
The vice-president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, Dave Verch, cites inflation and lack of funding as the culprit.
“This is when healthcare inflation is running at approximately 5.6 percent,” he said. “That’s a real dollar cut.”
CUPE is petitioning the province to increase the annual healthcare budget by $1.25 billion in the next four years to help with staffing issues and creating more full-time positions.
“We estimate that Ontario would need 60,000 more staff over the next four years to keep up with population growth and aging,” Mr. Verch said.
He also went on to say that staff to patient ratios are a major contributor to workers stress and anxiety and that compensation for less credentialed workers need to be increased to improve retention rates.
The Canadian Medical Association says that the primary care sector also needs greater investment nationwide. They estimate that Canada will need 7,500 more family doctors over the next five years, and 15,000 over the next 10 years.
“As a primary care physician, I see the lack of access to primary care as a critical threat to the health of Canadians and we need to work on building out team-based care, improving working conditions for primary care providers in such a way that we can get that front door working again,” said Dr. Kathleen Ross, the association’s president.
