Premier Doug Ford claims that bill 124 have not negatively affected the staffing levels in Ontario hospital being refuted by a front-line take care who is rethinking his future in bedside care.
Ford has repeatedly defended his government’s use of salary-capping legislation for public sector employees, citing the need for taxpayers coping with growing financial pressures – despite internal government documents that show Bill 124 points to the U.S. as a contributing factor to the health care staffing shortage. ,
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On Wednesday, Ford rejected allegations that Bill 124 affected its ability to retain employees in the province Health care field, pointing to the number of nursing registrations in 2022.
“We’ve hired a record number of health care workers in the province,” Ford said, citing figures from the College of Nurses of Ontario. “We had 12,000 (in 2022).”
Hassan Matar, a recent nursing graduate who works at the Greater Toronto Area Hospital, said the numbers only tell part of the story.
“Nurses may be enrolling in record numbers, but it is very important to look at what is happening day-to-day,” Matar told Global News.
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“With not having appropriate support, over time it leads to burnout and affects the mental health of nurses and they feel they have to quit and maybe leave the profession or look out for other opportunities,” Matar told Global News. Need to get out.”
Matar began working on the front lines of the health care system during the height of COVID-19 as she worked toward her nursing credential.
While Matar wanted to pursue her passion in nursing, she said other students in her class opted to move away from direct patient care in a hospital setting.
“Some people especially feared entering front-line positions,” Matar said. “So they shied away from it from the beginning. They didn’t want to try it at all.
Now, after months in her role as a registered nurse, Matar is considering her options and balances her passion with concerns about providing proper patient care.
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“I am able to provide excellent, patient-centered care, safe and effective care,” Matar said. “If I’m not able to provide safe care to my patients, it puts me at risk of medical errors. And that’s the last thing you want as a nurse or health care professional.”
While he isn’t ready to leave immediately, Matar said he would step down if his patient-centered values were compromised.
“If I feel that my values are undermined, I will probably consider other options in the nursing profession that may not be on the front lines.”
Matar said if government officials are expressing doubts about staffing levels in Ontario’s hospitals, they should take a first look at intensive care unit workloads.
“And they may be the judge of that.”
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