More nurse practitioners are needed to help Northern Ontario communities cope with physician shortages, Nickel Belt MPP Shelley Martel told Sault audiences on Thursday.
Speaking at Tony Martin's nomination meeting and earlier at the Group Healh Centre, Martel said the $3 million nurse practitioner pilot project announced this week by the Ontario Government was far smaller than it should have been.
The expectation around Queens Park was for a $300-million program, Martel said.
Martel is particularly concerned that the announced iniiative is a pilot project.
There's no need to assess the effectiveness of nurse practitioners, Martel said.
What's a nurse practitioner?
Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with advanced knowledge and decision-making skills in assessment, diagnosis, and health care management.
In addition to regular nursing duties, they may also perform added duties normally done only under the direction of a physician. These may include communicating a diagnosis of a disease or disorder, ordering diagnostic ultrasound, prescribing a limited range of drugs, or ordering specific X-rays and lab tests.
North is short 116 doctors
Northern Ontario needs 116 additional physicians in 34 communities, Martel said.
Province-wide, 519 doctors are needed in 77 communities, she said.
278 nurse practitioners are short of work
At the same time, Ontario has graduated 278 nurse practitioners who are either unemployed or underemployed because the province hasn't figured out how to deploy them, Martel said.
She said she also opposes the involvement of the private sector in building new Ontario hospitals.
Toronto Star preparing major article on Sault
A health reporter from the Toronto Star was present at yesterday's presentation at Group Healh Centre.
The Star is preparing a major article about physician shortages,and the reporter has several days of interviews planned in Sault Ste. Marie.
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