The Registered Nurses’ Union is stressing the importance of recruitment and retention efforts in response to the release of the Health Accord.
The RNU says addressing health human resource challenges must be prioritized to ensure successful transformation of the health care system.
Yvette Coffey, President of the RNU, says the health care system is unable to function without what she calls a “healthy workforce.”
She says nurses were under extreme stress and excessive workloads long before the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that more than half of the union’s members report having considered leaving the profession altogether over the last two years.
The RNU is pleased to see specific calls to action regarding health workforce planning, and is calling on government to implement the recommendations quickly.
Action is crucial, says Coffey, who argues that the cost of doing nothing will be far greater “because health outcomes will not improve and our system will become even less sustainable.”
She says members have long-known the system is broken, noting that the guiding principles of the report are in line with the RNU.
However, she says questions remain surrounding how and when government will implement the Health Accord.
Coffey is urging government to “do what is right” when the time comes, pointing to investment in education, change management, continuous evaluation and feedback as necessities to ensuring success.