FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 25, 2016
Ontario Provincial Budget Provides Small Improvements for Ontario Hospitals, say Front-Line Registered Nurses
TORONTO – The Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) says that the provincial budget provides a small increase to hospital funding, which we hope will be invested in front-line registered nurses (RNs) for our patients.
"We have been appalled that the government has starved our hospitals of much-needed funding over the past four years and look forward to the new hospital funding improving the quality of care for Ontarians," said ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN.
Haslam-Stroud says that it is very important for the Minister of Health, Eric Hoskins, to signal hospitals to invest this increased funding wisely. "Our patients deserve no less," she said. We also call on Minister Hoskins to respond to the tens of thousands of Ontarians who have requested a moratorium on RN cuts.
"Each year of hospital underfunding has left hospitals announcing round after round of RN cuts, 462 of them in 2016 alone," she said. "Our patients in long-term care will see increased funding for nursing and personal care. That will assist in addressing the high acuity of our residents. Community care will help build capacity as the system continues to transform. In addition, long-overdue funding for Nurse Practitioners is also included in this budget. Finally, the government has listened to the front-line RNs who have advocated strongly for our patients."
ONA is the union representing 60,000 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, registered practical nurses and allied health professionals, as well as more than 14,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, family health teams, community health centres, the community, clinics and industry.
