Nurse-patient ratios: Quebec commits to major reform

Quebec nurses’ workloads should become significantly lighter in coming years after a major reform of patient-nurse ratios was announced Thursday.

Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette was all smiles at a news conference as he outlined the project, an initiative that will require several hundred millions of additional dollars injected into the province’s health network, as well as the likely hiring of hundreds, if not thousands, of nurses and other health professionals.

After months of pressure from nurses — who said they were exhausted and crumbling under the pressure of their jobs — and months of negotiations with the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ), Quebec’s nurses’ union, Barrette agreed the situation could not continue any longer and that he needed to tackle the problem.

The solution will be a significant, drastic reduction in the number of patients who fall under the responsibility of nurses.

In the coming months, Quebec will create 17 pilot projects in regions across the province, with the goal of identifying the optimal patient-nurse ratio in each situation.

If the experiment works, Barrette said he is committed to extending the initiative throughout the health network. He did not give a precise deadline.

Marking the importance of the changes ahead, Barrette said it’s the beginning of “a new era.”

He said he has verified with the Quebec Treasury Board that he has the means to match his ambitions when it comes to the needed hires, but again said he couldn’t provide precise figures.

Present at the news conference, FIQ president Nancy Bédard described the initiative as a major announcement.