WEARING A MASK IS STILL REQUIRED TO ENTER SUNNYBROOK. VISITORS AND PATIENTS MUST ALSO BE ASYMPTOMATIC & SHOULD BE FULLY VACCINATED. »

Hospital  >  Welcome  >  About Sunnybrook  >  Health human resources (HHR) in Ontario
Share:  
|

Health human resources (HHR) in Ontario

Learn about current health human pressures and what can be done to create a resilient health-care workforce in Ontario.

Health Human Resources (HHR) in Ontario. Ru Tagger, Executive Vice President, Chief Nursing and Health Professions Executive. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated some of the long-standing issues within the nursing workforce in Ontario. As a province, we need to act now to ensure a resilient health-care workforce in our future. The reality is, we are facing several challenges, including: Increased workload & demand on teams. Heavy workloads during the pandemic have increased mental health issues amongst nursing staff in Ontario. Patients coming to hospital are more acutely ill as they delay care during the pandemic. This is adding to workload demands. Experienced nurses are leaving the profession at a higher rate. What we can do about it: 1) Develop coordinated wellness approaches for nurses across Ontario. 2) Increase workforce pipeline through programs such as externships, and align programs with areas with greatest staffing needs. 3) Implement retention program to ensure experienced workforce. 4) Implement innovative and aggressive recruitment approaches across the system. New nurses & the workforce. Delays in graduation mean a decline in nurses entering the workforce. Those entering the workforce are doing so during a time of crisis. What we can do about it: 1) Develop a program providing provincial guidelines and strategies to safely onboard new graduates. 2) Mentorship programs for new hires and students. 3) Increase workforce pipeline through programs such as externships. 4) Integrated strategies between health-care system and nursing schools. 5) Adjust nursing intake to meet forecasted demand.Help! Changes in teams. Team-based models of care introduced during the pandemic due to staffing shortages. Introduction of new roles and redeployed staff have caused a change in team configurations. What we can do about it: Create 'sustainable flex' models of nursing care that incorporate principals of safety, leverage clinical expertise and are adjusted frequently based on patient need (e.g., acuity based staffing).The time to act is now. Together, we can work towards creating a resilient health-care workforce... That is viewed as an attractive opportunity for the next generation of learners, the feels healthy, that feels confident they can provide safe and quality care to their patients, where the supply of our workforce matches the need.

Learn how Sunnybrook is inventing the future of health-care with new approaches to care »