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As the second National Nurses Week of the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end, some nurses say they are finding little to celebrate this year.
Nurses say they are exhausted, burned out, in need of more support and of better pay.
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“At the beginning of the pandemic we were heroes, everywhere there were rainbows and it was going to be OK. We went to zero really fast,” Ottawa registered practical nurse Melissa Viau said Friday.
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Eastern Ontario results from a poll of registered practical nurses released Friday were described as unsettling and alarming.
There were 700 RPNs in eastern Ontario and Ottawa who were a part of the poll conducted across the province, and over half described their mental health as being in a poor state.
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“A lot of the (results are) alarming,” said Sharon Richer, the Canadian Union of Public Employees / Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE) secretary-treasurer.
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Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) in Northern Ontario are experiencing greater levels of anxiety, workplace violence, workload pressures and other negative impacts when compared to other RPNs across Ontario.
The details, outlined in an RPN Members’ Survey, were released Wednesday by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (OCHU/CUPE) in an online teleconference.
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Michael Hurley, president of OCHU/CUPE, said it shows action is required to improve the working conditions and pay levels for Ontario’s RPNs.
It also showed 72 per cent said there isn t enough staffing to provide quality patient care.
The surveys come as hospitals are facing capacity issues and staffing issues due to the pandemic s third wave.
Local hospitals have implemented intensive care unit (ICU) surge plans, shuffled staff and shuttered services to try to manage the influx of patients from in and out of the region. Hamilton Health Sciences has also been building a field hospital.
As of Tuesday, there are 135 COVID-19 patients in hospital and 62 in the ICU. There are also 23 infected hospital staff and 145 in self-isolation.
Nurses fighting for personal protective equipment
At committee: Broadcasting-regime overhaul, offshore safety By Kady O Malley. Published on May 10, 2021 6:31am Parliament Hill (Andrew Meade/iPolitics) CANADIAN HERITAGE members are set to resume debate on a Liberal-initiated pitch to get clause-by-clause review of the proposed broadcasting overhaul back on track after the last-minute removal of a blanket exemption for social media sparked widespread outrage which, in turn, led opposition members to instigate a pause in the proceedings.
“On Friday,
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather tried to break the deadlock with a motion that would ask
Justice Minister David Lametti to provide the committee with “a revised Charter statement on the bill … as soon as possible,” as well as “invite both Lametti and