SUDBURY - Northern Ontario's nurse practitioners are being treated so poorly by the Conservative government that it is contributing to the overall shortage of health care professionals in the province.
That was part of the message from Sudbury MPP Jamie West who was speaking at a news conference held at the front doors of 200 Larch St., the downtown location of the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinic. West said it was the local launch of the For Us For You campaign.
"For us, for you is a new campaign that is launched by 10 provincial associations representing Ontario's community health sector," said West. "They're raising awareness of the staggering wage cap that has led to a severe staffing crisis."
West said the community health sector includes more than 200,000 nurses, personal support workers, social workers and others who are paid significantly less than other workers doing similar work.
"The wage gap is now over $2 billion and the consequences are dire. Everyday workers are leaving their jobs in the community health sector, making it harder for patients to access the care that they need," said West.
He said the reason for the news conference was to show solidarity in the face of no response from the province after numerous requests by nurse practitioners in recent years.
One of the speakers to step forward was Amanda Rainville, nurse practitioner and executive director of the Capreol Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic.
"In Capreol we are very much struggling to recruit and retain qualified staff," said Rainville.
"Over 75 per cent of our staff have been there for less than a year. So we've lost nurse practitioners and nurses, social workers and dieticians to other sectors due to compensation," she said.
Rainville said this only puts additional strain on the workers who stay to keep the clinic running.
She said it has resulted in the Capreol clinic having to cut back on services and same day appointments.
West also called on comments from Nicolle Plante-Dupuis executive director of the Univi Health Centre, located in the rural area of Sudbury East, including the municipalities of French River, St. Charles and Markstay-Warren.
She said Univi is the main health care provider in an area located 45 to 60 minutes away from the nearest hospital or walk-in clinic.
Plante-Dupuis said Univi is unable to keep up with the wage gap in larger cities because the province won't provide enough funding. She said the health centre has not had a social worker for months because social workers can get jobs at the hospital or school board making an additional $22,000 a year.
"We simply cannot compete and this leads to patients being left without this service," she said.
Jennifer Clement, executive director of the Sudbury District Nurse Practitioner Clinic, also spoke but on behalf of a patient who could not attend the event.
"I am deeply concerned about the growing staffing challenges facing primary care," the patient wrote. "Providers are facing many concerns like those discussed today, which are driving valuable professionals away from the sector. Without sufficient support to retain those who provide this care, the entire system is at risk of being compromised."
Sarah Crichton of the City of Lakes Family Health Team, said the workload has increased on medical teams in recent years and yet the salary levels are not keeping pace.
"Our wages do not reflect our professional experience or responsibilities. I have watched colleagues leave for better salaries elsewhere. I can't blame them. I have 21 years experience. A new grad, a new grad working at HSN (Health Sciences North) will make more money than me in one year," she told the gathering.
Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas said the nurses are usually speaking on behalf of others but now they're being forced to speak up on behalf of their own concerns. Gélinas said she was confident that people will listen.
Len Gillis covers health care and mining for Sudbury.com.
