Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions to address nationwide nursing shortage

The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions is asking the federal and provincial governments to address a nationwide nursing shortage as soon as possible as the situation in hospitals continues to worsen.

Overworked, burnt-out and understaffed – that’s the situation nurses across Canada continue to face in the workplace.

“It’s very dire. We are really concerned with what’s happening,” said Linda Silas, President, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. “We’re on the brinks of a collapse. We need an action plan, and we need it now.”

President Linda Silas met with Canadian Premiers Monday morning to discuss the future of Canada’s healthcare system. She says it’s important that the unions representing nurses and all levels of government work together to retain nurses.

“We have to stop the bleed. We have to speak with every nurse and say, ‘what will it take to make your full-time job attractive so you will stay in the system?’ To protect Manitobans and Canadians.”

At the beginning of June, Statistics Canada released data showing an all-time high in vacancies in the health care and social assistance sectors across the country. That number was 126,000 vacancies, almost double from 2019.

“The situation that our allied health professionals face is as dire as what Manitobans understand the nursing shortage to be,” said Bob Moroz, President, Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals.

Moroz says issues within the healthcare system don’t solely apply to nurses and doctors, but to other healthcare roles like EKG and X-ray technicians. He says solutions to the problem need to be brought forward with everyone in mind, not just nurses.

“We need to expand our horizons, we have to think about what health care is, what health care delivery is in this province and allied health is an enormously critical part of that.”

ERs in rural and Northern Manitoba continue to reduce hours and close due to shortages. Doctors Manitoba says out of 68 ERs, only 40 per cent are open 24/7 and 18 of those 68 have been closed for over a year and are not expected to reopen this summer.

Silas says the critical meeting with Canadian Premiers Monday morning was a start, but words need to turn into action before the entire system collapses.

“We’re willing to stick it out as long as there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This morning, we, the nurses, felt there was a tiny little light at the end of the tunnel, and we are asking the public, Canadians, to do the same thing.”