ONA Front-Line RNs Cautiously Optimistic: Funding increase must end RN cuts

TORONTO – The Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) is cautiously optimistic that the health-care funding increase announced in the provincial budget may begin to improve quality patient care.

“This increase is a good start,” says ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN. “Our hospitals have been starved of funding for years, and our patients have paid the price as hospitals slashed more than 1,600 RN positions – to dangerously low levels. We need multi-year, stable funding for our hospitals, and our patients need to see the RN cuts halted now, and new funding invested in RN care that our patients need and deserve.”

Haslam-Stroud says that in addition to hiring more hospital RNs, funding is needed for a multi-year nursing human resources plan with a view to bringing Ontario’s RN-to-population ratio up to the average of the rest of the country. Currently, Ontario has the lowest RN-to-population ratio in the country.

“We are pleased at the government’s announcement of a pharmacare program for Ontarians aged 24 years and younger, beginning next January. Our patients need to see the investments in home care, community care and long-term care used to bring care levels up for our patients,” notes Haslam-Stroud. “Ontarians in long-term care need and deserve a minimum of four hours of care per resident per day, including RN care. ONA will engage with government around new standards of the expert panel on public health to ensure the foundations of our health-care system remain strong.”

“Nurses know that the province needs to address workplace violence in a meaningful way, investing in measures to stop the violence,” she said. “We expect the government to correct its oversight that excludes RNs from PTSD presumptive legislation. Nurses are first responders and deserve to be recognized as such.”

ONA is the union representing 64,000 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, registered practical nurses and allied health professionals, as well as more than 16,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, family health teams, community health centres, the community, clinics and industry. 

FCA workers would 'respect picket line' if nurses strike, says union

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/fca-workers-would-respect-picket-line-if-nurses-strike-says-union-1.4088554

Only 3 of the 16 FCA nurses in Windsor are full-time

CBC News Posted: Apr 27, 2017 1:07 PM ET Last Updated: Apr 27, 2017 1:07 PM ET

A Chrysler auto worker is seen working on a partially assembled Chrysler minivan on the assembly line during the production launch of the new 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan's and Chrysler Town & Country minivans at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario January 18, 2011. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)

More than 6,500 Fiat-Chrysler workers at the Windsor Assembly Plant would "definitely respect" picket lines if the 16 nurses who look after them every day decide to go on strike Friday, according to their union leader.

• FCA to wind down transport operations in Windsor
• 'Major challenges' ahead for FCA transport workers as company plans to outsource jobs

Of the 16 nurses who serve the thousands of FCA employees, only three are full-time, according to Ontario Nurses' Association First Vice-President Vicki McKenna.

"Auto is a tough industry, we all know that, but that doesn't mean they should be treated poorly," she said. "Many nurses are looking elsewhere for work because they don't have enough money for food."

At the heart of the dispute are two requests, according to McKenna — more full-time work and an increase in wages.

"Not huge," she explained. "But some sort of wage increases that will provide them something that's not them taking home less and less every day in their paycheck."

Part-time nurse salary stagnant

Part-time nurses hired at the plant since 2006 were hired at a set wage that has not changed. They also do not have access to a pension or benefits, McKenna said.

The company met with representatives of the nurses over three days, but has not been able to reach an agreement. Conciliation talks are scheduled for Friday.

Unifor Local 444 president Dino Chiodo. (Jonathan Pinto/CBC)

If there is a strike, Unifor Local 444 President Dino Chiodo said his members would back up the nurses. Still, he hopes it doesn't come to that.

"I know our members will respect the picket line, but at the same time I'm cautiously optimistic they'll be able to get this behind them," he said.

Ontario Nurses’ Association Members to Mark Canada’s National Day of Mourning and Remembrance

 TORONTO – Members of the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) will pause tomorrow to remember their colleagues who have been made ill, been injured or died on the job during Canada’s National day of Mourning and Remembrance.

“ONA is a leader in advocating for improvements in workplace health and safety,” notes ONA First Vice-President Vicki McKenna, RN. “Yet each year, thousands of workers are injured, made ill or killed in the workplace. Statistics show that workplace injuries and violence harm nurses and other health-care workers at a frightening rate.”

ONA members will remember their fellow registered nurses – Nelia Laroza and Tecla Lin – who were infected and died of SARS while caring for their patients. They will also pause to remember Lori Dupont, RN, who was murdered by a colleague while she worked in Windsor’s Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital.

“The Day of Mourning is a chance to also renew our commitment to improving workplace safety for all, so that nurses, allied health professionals and every working person is safer on the job,” says McKenna. “We are continuing to push for more stringent occupational health and safety laws, and for accountability for workplace safety from employers, CEOs, directors, officers and supervisors. ONA continues to call on the Ministry of Labour to hold these decision-makers accountable for the safety of their employees.”

Health-care sector workers are eight times more likely to experience workplace violence than those in the manufacturing industry.

ONA is the union representing 64,000 registered nurses and allied health professionals, as well as almost 16,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.   

ONA Says Brockville Court Decision Leaves Nurses Unprotected from Violence

 BROCKVILLE — The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) is disgusted at a court decision released today that found the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre guilty of only one of five charges in a case where a registered nurse was stabbed multiple times.

The employer was found guilty of failing to reassess for the risk of violence at its Brockville site under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

“We’re shocked the employer was not convicted on charges of failing to take sufficient precautions and implement measures and procedures in a case where one of our members was so seriously injured,” said ONA First Vice-President Vicki McKenna, RN.

The case stems from an incident in 2014 in which a registered nurse was stabbed numerous times in the head and neck by a patient. Since the incident, ONA has successfully appealed the non-issuance of orders written by the Ministry of Labour and successfully fought an attempt by the hospital to quash orders to take measures to keep forensic unit nursing staff safe.

“ONA is unrelenting in its efforts to push employers and government to eliminate violence in our workplaces, to protect nurses and the patients we care for,” says McKenna. “The employer has spent significant taxpayer dollars fighting against registered nurses who are continually at risk of violence.”

Workplace violence has been increasing in Ontario’s health-care sector, and ONA officials have been appalled at the lack of effort on the part of health-care employers to take action to keep their front-line caregivers safe on the job. At the Brockville site, several serious violent incidents have occurred in the same forensics unit where the RN stabbing took place.

“Until government and courts begin to hold senior health-care facility officials accountable, we will continue to see workplace violence escalate. This is an issue that must be taken seriously. Nurses should not have to fear for their lives while providing the care our patients need and deserve.”

ONA is the union representing 64,000 registered nurses and allied health professionals, as well as almost 16,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.   

Nurses at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Trying to Avoid a Strike

WINDSOR — Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) members working for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Canada are hoping to avoid a strike, heading into conciliation talks with the employer this Friday.

“Our highly skilled registered nurses provide for the health and well-being of a population of more than 6,500 workers, providing quality, cost-effective front-line health care in Windsor,” says ONA First Vice-President Vicki McKenna, RN. “Our nurses respond to health crises in all medical emergencies, traumas, and critical injuries in life-threatening situations, and yet they are being shoddily treated by their employer. Of the 16 nurses working for FCA, just three are full-time staff – the remaining 13 are all part-time without access to full-time wages or benefits. All nurses hired since 2006 do not even have access to a wage grid – they are hired and immediately frozen at their one and only rate of pay, with no growth or progression. Furthermore, nine of the positions are full-time, but FCA fills just three of the positions with formalized full-time RNs with access to full-time wages and benefits.”

ONA and the employer have had three days of failed negotiations, and the nurses are deeply disappointed that a settlement could not be negotiated. They are aware that being forced to strike would have negative consequences for the health and well-being of thousands of workers at the Windsor Assembly Plant and other city-wide FCA facilities.

Not only do the RNs provide emergency care, they also promote health and safety, provide vaccination clinics, perform audiograms to monitor hearing and perform pulmonary function tests, including fitting workers with respirators to ensure pulmonary protection.

“As Occupational Health Nurses, our members meet the requirements of the Workers Safety and Insurance Board and other regulatory legislation while delivering health services,” notes McKenna. “They ensure that FCA industrial vehicle drivers are healthy enough to drive, as required by the Ministry of Labour. They are vital to the health and safety of the workers, save FCA a great deal of money, and yet have been fighting the erosion of their pension plan, a lack of benefits and wages that have been frozen for years. It’s simply unacceptable from a multinational corporation with billions in profits worldwide.”

ONA is the union representing 64,000 registered nurses and allied health professionals, as well as almost 16,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.   

April 28 - The Day of Mourning: Remember and Renew

https://www.ona.org/news-posts/national-day-of-mourning/

HOOPP Survey

Help us improve #HOOPP's communications by providing us with your feedback on our 2016 Year in Review. You'll be entered into a draw for your chance to win an iPad mini or an Apple Watch! http://bit.ly/2mU80Fx

Direct link between low nurse staffing and risk of patient mortality revealed by study

https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/research-and-innovation/link-found-between-low-nurse-staffing-and-patient-death-risk/7017344.article#.WPdSCnq8ICQ.facebook

18 April, 2017

By Nicola Merrifield 
Deputy news editor

• 

The risk of a patient dying increases “significantly” following a period in hospital during which the number of nurses falls below the required level, according to emerging findings from a new study thought to be the first of its kind in England.

Previous research has often been contested because it has not been possible to show how staffing directly links to mortality – only that there is an association – and has also been based on data from overseas.

“These latest findings…suggest having sufficient numbers of professional nurses… providing direct care will result in the best outcomes”

Peter Griffiths

But in this latest study at an NHS trust, academics from the University of Southampton have shown that over the first five days of hospitalisation, for every day a patient was on a general medical or surgical ward with nurse staffing below what was typically required, the risk of death increased by 3%.

High-risk patients (those with an early warning score above six) were also more at risk of their observations not being taken when on a ward with lower numbers of nurses.

The academics found that, for every additional hour of care provided to a patient by a nurse in a 24-hour period, there was a 2% decrease in the likelihood of vital signs observations being missed.

“This is one of the first studies that directly links the nursing a patient receives to outcomes”

Peter Griffiths

In addition, higher levels of temporary nurse staffing were linked to an increased risk of patient death.
When 1.5 or more hours of nurse care were provided by temporary nurses to a patient in a 24-hour period, the risk of death increased by 12%.

The hospital’s average number of hours of nurse care per patient per day was 4.7, indicating that when around a third of those hours were delivered instead by a temporary nurse, the risk of mortality was heightened.

Patients whose stays included days with high patient turnover – in terms of admissions per nurse – were also associated with a significant increase in risk of death.

Meanwhile, for each day a patient was on a general ward that was staffed below what was typically required in terms of the number of care assistants, the risk of death increased by 4%.

The study results were based on data from 32 general medical and surgical wards in a large NHS hospital in England between 2012 and 2015.

“The problems associated with the use of temporary nurses shown here highlights problems that arise from the significant shortage of nurses”

Peter Griffiths

It involved analysing around 914,000 patient days from 111,000 patients and three million sets of vital signs observations. Overall, 5.2% of patients died in hospital during that time.

The results from the study, called Nurse staffing, missed vital signs observations and mortality in hospital wards, have yet to be published in full, but early findings were presented at the Royal College of Nursing’s international nursing research conference in Oxford this month.

“This is an early analysis but these latest findings are consistent with a growing body of research that suggests having sufficient numbers of professional nurses spending time with patients and providing direct care will result in the best outcomes,” said Professor Peter Griffiths, who led the research.

“This is one of the first studies that directly links the nursing a patient receives to outcomes,” he told Nursing Times.

Peter Griffiths

“The problems associated with the use of temporary nurses shown here highlights problems that arise from the significant shortage of nurses that is being experienced by the NHS,” he said.

Professor Griffiths also noted the national shortage of nurses could worsen in future years due to the requirement for students to take out loans for nurse training from this autumn. He highlighted that applications to pre-registration courses had dropped compared to last year.

The results from this study – which found higher temporary staffing increased the risk of mortality – showed the possible consequences of future shortages, as managers may be forced to fill more shifts with agency or bank workers, he added.

Windsor Regional Hospital "White Wednesdays"