Premier Doug Ford’s assertion that Bill 124 hasn’t negatively affected staffing levels in Ontario hospitals is being refuted by a front-line nurse who’s reconsidering his future in bedside care.
Ford has repeatedly defended his government’s use of the wage-capping legislation for public sector employees, citing a need to be fiscally prudent as taxpayers face increasing financial pressures — despite internal government documents which point to Bill 124 as a contributing factor to health care staffing shortages.
On Wednesday, Ford dismissed accusations that Bill 124 impacted the province’s ability to retain staff in the health care sector, pointing to to the number of nursing registrations in 2022.
“We’ve seen a record amount of health-care workers hired in the province,” Ford said, citing figures from the College of Nurses of Ontario. “We had 12,000 (in 2022).”
Hassan Matar, a recent nursing graduate who works at a Greater Toronto Area hospital, said the numbers only tell part of the story.
“Nurses may be registering in record numbers, but it’s very critical to look at what’s happening on the day to day,” Matar told Global News, adding that staffing shortages and overburdened hospitals have put more pressure on frontline staff leaving some eyeing the exits.
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“Not having the appropriate supports in place, over time this compounds into burnout and affects nurses’ mental health and they feel they need to exit and perhaps leave the profession, or exit for other opportunities,” Matar told Global News.
Matar began working on the front line of the health-care system during the height of COVID-19 as he worked towards his nursing credentials.
While Matar wanted to continue pursuing his passion in nursing, he said other students in his class chose to stay away from direct patient care in hospital settings.
“Some individuals had fears of entering positions especially in front line positions,” Matar said. “So they steered away from this from the beginning. They didn’t even want to try this out at all.”
Now, months into his role as a registered nurse, Matar is considering his options and he balances his passion with concerns about providing proper patient care.
“I value being able to provide excellent, patient-centred care, safe and effective care,” Matar said. “If I’m not able to provide safe care to my patients, that will put me at a risk of medical errors. And that’s the last thing that you would want as a nurse or a health care professional.”
While he’s not ready to leave immediately, Matar said he would take the step, if his patient-centric values are compromised.
“If I feel that my values are undermined, then I will probably consider other options within the nursing profession that are perhaps not being on the front line.”
Matar said if government officials are expressing doubts about staffing levels in Ontario hospitals, they should take a first hand look at the workload in an an intensive care unit.
“And they can be the judge of that.”
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