The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions is speaking out following a survey of their members showing that morale among healthcare workers in the province is at an all-time low.
The survey of over 750 members showed that two out of five workers are considering leaving over the next year, and three out of five are reporting that they’re exhausted.
Sharon Richer, an OCHU spokesperson and former healthcare worker, told us how the staffing crisis is already playing out in Ontario hospitals.
If even half of the respondents who indicated they are considering quitting actually left, Richer says it would have a “very detrimental” impact on healthcare. She says there is currently a backlog of 100,000 people waiting for tests and procedures. That number would likely increase.
“We will also see further ER closures,” says Richer, adding that over the last year, more than 600 ER’s have been closed for periods of time.
In their bargaining talks with the Ontario Hospitals Association, Richer says that the OCHU is asking for an increase in the number of full-time jobs. Right now, about 50 per cent of OCHU members are working full-time.
The OCHU is also asking the government to increase hospital funding by 1.25 billion dollars on top of inflation over the next four years.
Written by David Rockne Corrigan