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Local nurse describes working in ‘constant fear’ during COVID-19 surge

Two surveys have found Northern Ontario nurses are experiencing physical and mental exhaustion during the pandemic and are calling on the provincial government to provide more supports, more pay, and increase staffing levels.
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre

THUNDER BAY - Ashley MacRae, a registered practical nurse in the emergency department at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, said she and her fellow nurses worked in constant fear of what was coming through the door when the district was seeing a spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations throughout March and April.

“You feel unprepared every day with the unknown. I’ve seen my co-workers in stressful situations,” she said. “As our scope has increased, it has become more stressful to be at work. We are doing more with less and having more tasks than before. Sometimes giving my all is not enough.”

Nurses across the North experienced similar situations and according to two surveys conducted throughout the pandemic, more and more RPNs say they are experiencing mental and physical exhaustion due to staffing shortages, lack of supports, and lack of pay.

As part of Nursing Week, health care advocates are once again calling on the provincial government to provide the supports nurses need during the pandemic and beyond.

“We owe them a debt of gratitude,” said Sharleen Stewart, Service Employees International Union Healthcare president.

“They have showed up every day for our family, friends, and neighbours under unprecedented conditions. They have found the dedication to enter what some call a warzone.”

“They work in hospitals that are routinely operating at over 100 per cent capacity, including in cities like North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, and Thunder Bay,” added Michael Hurley, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and Ontario Council of Hospital Unions. “Their already crushing workloads have spiked during COVID.”

Both CUPE and SEIU conducted surveys of nursing staff throughout Northern Ontario, with the results showing just how much of an impact the pandemic has had for those on the frontlines.

According to the CUPE poll of 650 RPNS, 200 of which work in Northern Ontario, 85 per cent have said workloads have increased during the pandemic and 89 per cent said there is more potential for medical errors.

Additionally, 43 per cent of Northern Ontario RPNs reported having been infected with COVID-19 or exposed, while 36 per cent said they were not paid for their sick leave when self-isolating.

Of those who responded, 45 per cent also described their mental health state as poor, with 61 per cent saying they are coping poorly, and 50 per cent saying morale is low.

A survey conducted by SEIU found the top three concerns in nursing across Ontario are inadequate staffing levels, inappropriate utilization of nurses, and lack of strong leadership within hospitals.

According to the survey, 72 per cent believe insufficient staffing is responsible for the decrease in quality of care.

Nurses are also reporting increases in harassment on the job, with 86 per cent saying they were verbally harassed, 74 per cent experiencing bullying, 66 per cent witnessing a co-worker experiencing a form of violence, 56 per cent experiencing physical assault, 25 per cent sexual assault, and 10 per cent experiencing stalking while at work.

“Nursing in these uncertain times has been super challenging,” said Karen Brosseau, who has been working in Sudbury as an RPN for 29 years.

“I’m waiting for better protection against the virus, daily protocol changes in different work areas, and not always having the same standard of care. It has been a huge struggle. It’s like walking into the unknown. Are we working short? Do we have enough supplies? Can I do my job safely?”

“The experience of trying to validate myself as a nurse, not being fully compensated for the work I am providing, and also not having enough resources to lean on has had a huge strain on my mental health,” added MacRae.

During the period when COVID-19 hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions were surging in Thunder Bay, MacRae said she was fortunate that she and her fellow nurses had strong management in the emergency department to allow for an efficient flow of patients, as well as proper personal protective equipment.

“I feel blessed that is the kind of team we are working with in Thunder Bay, but I feel I want that for the rest of the province and the rest of the nurses should have access to that as well,” she said.

“When we have higher demand in the ICU, they hired 18 extra hands to help and they were right there supporting what was needed in the hospital. We created the virtual emergency department as well. The flow has been better. I think we have a great team here in Thunder Bay.”

But more needs to be done for nurses across the province who continue to work long hours and put themselves at risk during the pandemic.

According to Hurley, in the first seven months of the pandemic 6,800 health care workers contracted COVID-19 while at work. Since then, that number has increased to more than 22,200 and 24 health care workers have died.

“If the precautions these nurses are given are adequate, why have infections tripled and deaths doubled in the last seven months?” Hurley said. “One third of nurses who have caught or been exposed to COVID report they are not paid for the absence.”

“Premier Ford pretends to support nurses but he has imposed wage restraints on them while at the same time promising to end hallway health care. Those two are incompatible,” Stewart said.

CUPE and SEIU are calling on the provincial government to make the $4 pandemic pay permanent, while also removing Bill 124 and increasing staffing levels at hospitals.

“More work is being done by fewer staff, staff who are now carrying the emotional and physical weight of a pandemic. The burnout is real,” Stewart said. “This is our warning. Premier Ford, listen, the alarm bells are ringing. Please do not ignore them.” 

“It’s no wonder 93 per cent of nurses face this mental exhaustion,” MacRae added. “It’s all we know. We give. We give everything everyday to our profession, to our practice, to our patients, and we are looking for support and it’s not found. We are told our labour is essential but our lives are not.”


Doug Diaczuk

About the Author: Doug Diaczuk

Doug Diaczuk is a reporter and award-winning author from Thunder Bay. He has a master’s degree in English from Lakehead University
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