Windsor-Essex hospitals in need of nurses, call results of recent survey 'very concerning'

In this April 28, 2020, file photo, nurse practitioner talks to a patient and holds her hand while a doctor administers an IV at Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)

Windsor Regional Hospital officials say they are in need of about 100 more nurses, however, it has become more difficult to recruit new hires.

Officials say there are 100 vacancies for both registered nurse (RN) and registered practical nurse (RPN) positions and while 100 open positions are typical, the hospital is having a harder time filling them compared to pre-pandemic.

There is "tremendous competition" for nurses across the health care system, officials say. 

Meanwhile, nurses across Ontario have cited heavy workloads, staffing shortages and insufficient resources.

A recent survey released by the Registered Practical Nurses Association (WeRPN) of Ontario suggests nearly one in two nurses are considering leaving the field.

WeRPN represents over 55,000 RPNs across Canada and 763 of them took part in the online survey from May 1 to 9 this year.

In the survey, 93 per cent of nurses said their workload went up over the last two-to-three years, and 68 per cent said they don’t have the time or resources to provide suitable care to their patients.

Seven in 10 nurses said they have had to work more hours to cover staffing shortages and according to the survey that includes 39 per cent who worked unpaid overtime at the end of their shifts.

A statement from Windsor Regional Hospital said the survey results are “very concerning.”

“Similar results would probably come from many different healthcare worker classifications in both community and hospital settings, let alone even some sectors outside of healthcare,” the statement said.

“Windsor Regional Hospital will continue to try to work with its employees and professional staff to address these issues while at the same time ensuring the provision of acute care to our community.”

Windsor Regional Hospital currently employs 2,000 nurses.  

Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare president and CEO Bill Marra said they are facing similar circumstances when it comes to hiring new nurses. 

While he said recruitment challenges existed before the pandemic, the experience over the last two and a half years has “further exacerbated what was already a very precarious situation.”

“It’s further deepened the overall challenges given the moral distress and the very stressful work environment that we’ve had to subject our people too throughout the pandemic. (They’ve) had to deal with a pandemic every waking hour of their lives,” Marra said in an emailed statement. “They are responsible for some very important duties and responsibilities and the care of many people.”

In addition to being on the front lines of the pandemic at work, Marra notes many employees have also dealt with COVID-19 first hand either themselves or with family members.

“So this has created a strain and many individuals have chosen to make decisions to improve their quality of life and in some cases it has meant to leave the profession outright,” he said.

Marra said the hospital is working to address the environment and is launching a new teams-based model of care as part of a phased strategy. This includes bringing personal support workers (PSWs) into the hospital to support the nursing team so they can focus on their scope of practice, he said.

He said the hospital is also actively recruiting nurses and looking at different scheduling strategies. 

- With files from CTV News Toronto's Kerrisa Wilson.