Urgent care nurses call on province to give same pay bump provided to ER nurses
A group of nurses is calling out the provincial government, saying they are not doing enough to address staffing shortages in Manitoba.
"Our health care system is in chaos," reads a letter from eighty five urgent care nurses from Concordia, Seven Oaks and Victoria hospitals.
"Nurses are constantly working short staffed and being mandated with no end in site, resulting in burnout.”
The group is asking the province why urgent care nurses are being excluded from a pay premium that ER nurses started receiving in mid-August.
They say the extra $6 an hour will help to address staffing shortages as "ER and UC wait times are at an all-time high,” adding that hallway medicine is a common occurrence.
According to the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP), staffing shortages are currently being experienced across the healthcare system.
"We cannot continue to undergo inaction on such severe short staffing. It has to happen now. We have to get our health care system back to being healthy because it's not,” said MAHCP President Bob Moroz.
During a Thursday news conference, the Manitoba NDP asked why the province isn't implementing the pay increase to all nursing staff.
"You're alienating nurses that we need to keep on the job and on a policy level, you're ignoring one of the strongest tools - a financial incentive - that we have to address the staffing crisis,” said Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew.
On Tuesday, Health Minister Audrey Gordon acknowledged the nursing staff shortage facing Manitoba.
"We're working to increase capacity. We're working to increase the number of nurses that are in our system,” Gordon said.
The province said on Thursday it could not comment on providing a pay premium to urgent care nurses, citing ongoing talks with the nurses union on a new contract.
In a statement provided to CTV News, Manitoba Shared Health said Thursday that comprehensive negotiations continue.
"We look forward to resolving the remainder of the outstanding proposals, which include general wage increases with retroactive effect and other monetary proposals,” the statement read.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.