Shortage continues
The shortage of nurses across P.E.I. is concerning. What is even more concerning is the recurring regularity of this chronic problem affecting the province’s health care system.
Last week, the president of the P.E.I. Nurses Union expressed her concerns about the high rate of vacancies in nursing positions and called on government to do more to recruit and retain nurses.
Mona O’Shea must feel that she is beating her head against a brick wall. She had the same urgent warnings in 2016 and again in 2015. Before that, nurses marched to hammer home that message.
Last week, there were 89 vacant nursing positions for full-time and temporary RN, LPN and nurse practitioner positions across the province. It’s all leading to overtime, burnout and low morale among nurses working extra hours.
Most nurses are willing to go the extra mile, feeling an obligation towards their patients, clients and fellow workers.
Under their contract, nurses are guaranteed two weeks of summer holidays. But the shortage has made it difficult to fulfill that obligation. Some nurses are only having vacations approved if colleagues agree to cover their time off. Instead of two weeks, some nurses are just getting two days.
An aging workforce is adding to staffing concerns. Attrition rates will be 10 per cent by 2019 for RNs. That’s why recruitment and retention have been flagged as top priorities in the province’s new nursing strategy.
The strategy is a positive step, but the wheels of government can move slowly. The problem is immediate and urgent but strategies take time to implement. This crisis has long been evident.
Sixty-eight nursing students graduated from UPEI last year but only 47 were hired on the Island. Why aren’t the numbers higher if we have a chronic shortage? And why has government been cutting some nursing positions?
The province is taking some positive steps combining part-time positions into permanent jobs to make P.E.I. more attractive to new graduates. Casual work is not going to keep a RN here.
The future looks even more challenging as nurses get older and younger nurses take time off for maternity leave. Nursing shortages have forced emergency rooms to shut down and put patients at risk in nursing homes when nurses take leave because of injury, burnout and sick time.
There are solutions. The nurse’s strategy must be fully implemented and the UPEI faculty of nursing should increase its enrolment numbers. Employers need to examine why staff shortages continue to happen; why there is such a turnover of staff; why they are leaving their jobs; and perform exit reviews to get those answers.
Nurses are feeling frustrated. They need their rest, they deserve their summer vacation and Islanders need to support them.
The union says it’s up to the health minister to find long-term solutions. Thus, communication between government, union and nurses is important.