Actively engaged in conversations with MPPs and ministry staff. Advocating for NP recruitment and retention in Primary Care. Sharing their personal stories of NP innovations and commitment to health care in Ontario. Ensuring that the Liberal government is following through on the commitments that they made to NPs during the election.
NPs speaking for NPs –Â Passionate, focused and united. NPs rock!
NPAO Day at Queen’s Park Pictures
Parliamentary Assistant & MPP, Â Indira Naidoo-Harris welcoming us on behalf of the Ministry of Health at the NPAO sponsored breakfast where NPs and MPPs met informally.
60 NPs from across the province being welcomed in the legislature by their MPP during question period.
During question period at the legislature, France Gelinas, Critic, Health and LTC, asked the following question to Minister of Health, Hon. Eric Hoskins.
From: Ontario Hansard Monitoring – Tuesday, October 28, 2014Â
Nurse practitioners
France Gélinas: Ma question est pour le ministre de la Santé et des Soins de longue durée. Yesterday, the minister was proud to mention that Ontario has 25 nurse practitioner-led clinics, but he didn’t mention that his Liberal government limits the capacity of these clinics, resulting in wait-lists and delays for patients.
He didn’t mention that the Liberals discourage specialists from accepting patients referred by nurse practitioners, and he refused to mention that huge barriers prevent nurse practitioners f rom working to their full scope, such as ordering X-rays, performing tests as simple as urinalysis, or prescribing controlled substances.
I’m really delighted that so many nurse practitioners joined us today at Queen’s Park. But it’s also important to deliver a reality check. You see, Speaker, those measures won’t cost the government anything. They are 100% within the minister’s power, and they will save our system money. My question is simple: What is he waiting for?
Hon. Eric Hoskins: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It gives me the opportunity as well to welcome our nurse practitioners here today. They contribute, as we know—well, let me put it this way: We’re so proud that& #8212;in fact, it was in Sudbury, as the member opposite knows, I think, in 2007 that the first of 25 nurse practitioner-led clinics in this province opened. I think that in that first year, 2,000 patients were registered at that one clinic alone. What we’ve seen since that time is what I would call a dramatic expansion and an appropriate use of our health resources to ensure that our nurse practitioners, as we should for nurses across this province, are able to work to their full scope of practice.
There are particular areas of the province where the provision of the services that they provide is even more vital because of the challenges that are faced by local communities.
The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?
Mme France Gélinas: The minister continued to speak glowingly about nurse-practitioner-led clinics, and we all agree. They expand access to primary care for Ontarians. But that can’t happen without a recruitment strategy to fix the damage caused by some of this government’s policies.Yes, this government froze the pay of nurse practitioners who work in primary care, who work in those nurse-practitioner-led clinics. They have stood by our nurse practitioners while they received some of the lowest pay throughout our country and they have watched 20% of the positions in primary care go unfilled because of opportunities that can be found elsewhere. That’s no way to expand public access to high-quality primary care.
Will the minister commit to a real recruitment and retention strategy to attract and keep primary care nurse practitioners in Ontario?
Hon. Eric Hoskins: I had the opportunity just about a week ago to address about 900 staff who work in our family health teams across the province. I specifically spoke to this challenge that they are facing—and it’s not specific to our family health teams, but the recruitment and retention of vital health personnel. We are working diligently on this specific issue.
We’re also working on the scope of practice for our nurses, including our nurse-practitioner-led clinics and our nurse practitioners.
I believe strongly that we should work with our health care specialists, including our nurse practitioners, to allow them to work to the full abilities that they were trained for. I think we should aim for nothing less; it makes for a stronger, better health care system. We are working with our nurses, including nurse practitioners, to expand their scope of practice and their ability, for example, to prescribe medications and order more tests.
