TORONTO: The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says yesterday's Ministry of Health announcement of $29 million to support nurses underlines the minister's ignorance of what is really going on in the health care system.
"We are not criticizing this funding; nursing does need it. We represent nurses. But we never hear anything from this minister about the other professions that are experiencing terrible shortages," said OPSEU President Leah Casselman. "There is no plan to address these shortages."
OPSEU says there are gaping shortages in the allied professions, including but not limited to:
· In Northern Ontario about 25 per cent of physio and occupational therapists, and 47 per cent of speech-language pathologist positions are vacant (Ministry's own figures).
· Hospitals across the province are offering at least $3,000 referral bonuses to help recruit pharmacists.
· 11 per cent of medical laboratory technologists could retire this year; 44 per cent could retire by 2015. This is the fourth-largest profession in health care.
· Many new graduates in all allied professions are going to work in the United States, including most Michener Institute-trained medical radiation technologists.
· On the Ontario Hospital Association web site, one can find advertisements for more than 500 vacancies in the allied professions.
Patty Rout, chair of OPSEU's 30,000-member health council said the announcement was hypocritical while he is causing nursing layoffs across the province: "How can George Smitherman forget the layoff of hundreds of health care workers across the province, including about a hundred home care nurses laid off in Niagara this year due to
competitive bidding, several dozen RPNs in Owen Sound, and 125 full time staff (including nurses) in Peterborough? Layoffs will not solve the vacancy problem."
"Smitherman has to stop creating chaos in a system and bring back labour stability in health care in Ontario," Rout said.
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For further information:
David Cox, OPSEU Communications, 416-788-9197
