As a registered nurse, I have devoted my career to advocating for and caring for my patients. Safe staffing in all sectors of health care — from hospitals to long-term care, public health, clinics, home and community care — improves the quality of care, reduces the likelihood of patients/residents/clients experiencing complications and even death, and improves the retention rate of staff, helping alleviate the shortage of nurses and health-care professionals that has closed emergency departments, delayed surgeries and negatively impacted Ontario health-care facilities.
That is why other jurisdictions such as British Columbia and many U.S. states have made safe staffing ratios part of their health-care system. Safe staffing ratios are a win-win-win: more nurses mean better patient outcomes, fewer complications, higher staff retention rates and less cost to taxpayers.
In Ontario, our provincial government has been in power for almost seven years and has done the polar opposite of achieving safe staffing levels. In fact, the measures introduced by the Ford Conservatives have resulted in the province’s nursing shortage worsening.
The situation could be vastly improved by introducing wage parity across all sectors of health care and putting safe staffing levels in place. Yet Premier Doug Ford seems determined to permanently break our publicly funded, publicly delivered health-care system by withholding billions in funding, supporting private corporations delivering more health care at a higher cost to taxpayers, and passing policies that drive nurses and health-care professionals out of the profession.
As the upcoming early — and expensive — election day approaches, I ask everyone to advocate for themselves by voting for a candidate that will ensure safe 2025 staffing levels, fully fund our public health-care system and stop for-profit care from bankrupting the system.
Demand better health care. Our lives may depend on it.
Elisha Vank
Greater Sudbury