Nurses hold national day of action to highlight nursing crisis

Nurses are participating in a national day of action today, protesting the lack of government action to fix the critical nursing shortage and make urgently needed improvements to Canada’s beleaguered health care system. The day of action was organized by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and its member organizations, like the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union, to express mounting frustration among overworked frontline health care workers.

“Across the country, nurses and our allies are coming together, posting support online and sharing the message however we can, while still respecting public health guidelines. We are done asking for the basics; we demand action to fix the nursing crisis,” said CFNU president Linda Silas.

The Done Asking rally cry is the result of eighteen months into a deadly pandemic, and more than a decade into a chronic nursing shortage. Widespread staffing shortages and increased demands have compromised care across the country, resulting in bed and ER closures, cancelled surgeries and less time to care for patients.

“The NSNU has been talking about the nursing shortage for well over a decade. We’ve presented two detailed reports on staffing problems in long term care, in rural Nova Scotia and elsewhere, offering numerous solutions to the problems,” says Janet Hazelton, NSNU president.

In Nova Scotia, the pandemic has meant even more 24-hour shifts and cancelled time off, adding to a long list of general grievances. The current situation is untenable, and a deterrent to recruitment and retention of nurses.

The CFNU and NSNU are calling for increased staffing levels, increased federal funding to retain and recruit more nurses, more space in schools to graduate more nurses, and a federal agency tasked with improving workforce data and ensuring Canada has enough health care workers to meet growing need.

Nurses are calling on provincial governments to address the problems and commit to safe staffing models, fair wages, benefits and permanent work for all health care workers, especially those in long-term care.

Please visit the National Day of Action website now at https://www.frontlineunited.ca/ to learn more.