More than half of northern nurses 'dread going to work': CUPE poll

A new poll by hospital sector unions spotlights the staffing crisis in northern Ontario hospitals, with 58 per cent of staff saying they “dread going to work” and 81 per cent reporting high stress levels.

The survey of northern Ontario hospital workers is part of a province-wide poll by Nanos Research of more than 750 staff represented by CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE).

The unions have called a news conference in North Bay for Monday with Sharon Richer, secretary-treasurer of OCHU/CUPE, and Dave Verch, its first vice president. Our sister site, BayToday, will cover the news conference for Village Media oulets.

Organizers plan to announce the results of the poll concerning "employment conditions, negative impacts of work on their mental health, and their lack of confidence in the government’s plan to improve health care." They plan to recommend "concrete solutions."

The survey supplements recent research by OCHU/CUPE that warns of "an acute staffing crisis in the hospital sector, which is contributing to unprecedented ER closures, delayed treatments, and overall poorer quality of patient care."