Fortin requests provincial health commission meet in Outaouais, address staffing crisis
Fortin requests provincial health commission meet in Outaouais, address staffing crisis
Pontiac MNA André Fortin is calling on the provincial health and social services commission to meet in the Outaouais, so they can get a close up look at the staffing crisis in local health facilities. Several high-ranking doctors within the regional health authority CISSSO have recently issued public appeals for aid, anticipating there will be dangerous breaks in service over the summer holidays if the staffing situation isn’t immediately addressed. They note that one of the main challenges for retaining staff in the region is the pay disparity between Quebec and Ontario.
Fortin said that he hoped bringing decision makers to the region would spur more urgent action on the file.
On Monday (May 13), Fortin met with several wardens of the Outaouais and heard their concerns that the new bonuses for medical imagery technicians would cause and exodus of staff from peripheral hospitals (Shawville, Maniwaki, Wakefield and Buckingham) to the Gatineau or Hull Hospitals.
In an emailed statement, Quebec solidaire’s health critic Vincent Marissal supported Fortin’s request for the commission to meet in the Outaouais.
“I unreservedly support André Fortin’s request and I ask my fellow CAQ members of the Commission to rise above all partisanship in the interest of the population of Outaouais, where the situation in the health network has gone from serious to critical,” he wrote (translated).
The full interview with Fortin (7m50) is available here.
CISSSO: Pontiac summer staffing situation “precarious but acceptable”
Earlier this month, CISSSO media relations agent Camille Brochu-Lafrance gave a breakdown of the staffing situation in the Pontiac service network, which includes the Pontiac Hospital, local CLSCs, and three long-term care facilities. She said that with the help of private staffing agencies, they would be able to maintain services throughout the summer holidays, but noted that nearly half the nursing positions (84 out of 205) in the region are currently vacant.
“For the medical imaging technologist we are at 6/8 and we will have an extra person (independent workforce) for the summer to insure an adequate coverage for the summer holidays. If all remains the same, the situation is acceptable and no service interruptions are anticipated for the moment,” she wrote. “For registered nurses and auxiliary nurses, we have a total of 205 positions in the Pontiac local service network and 84 of these positions are vacant. We have severeal independant [sic] work force that help us answer our needs. The summer holidays will be precarious but acceptable. If the situation remains stable, no interruptions are anticipated at this time. In total for the Pontiac network, we have 581 positions and 161 are vacant (all job titles included).”
Speaking to CHIP 101.9 at the end of April regarding a new bursary for Pontiac nursing students, local CISSSO representative Nicole Boucher-Larivière explained some of the challenges of hiring in this region specifically, namely the interprovincial pay disparity, the lack of available housing and bilingualism requirements.
