Turnover rates for nurses in Quebec hospitals are higher than in pre-pandemic times

Turnover rates for nurses in Quebec hospitals increased nearly 10 per cent in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic rates, which comes as no surprise to nurses who are struggling to stick it out in the profession.

The data was compiled by Le Journal de Montreal (JDM), using official documents they received through an access to information request.

Naveed Hussain, a nurse at the MUHC, told CTV News he doesn't think health authorities really understand what's going on in emergency rooms and hospital units.

"I've never seen a government official spend a 12-hour shift working with a nurse and seeing what's really happening," he said.

That disconnect, he said, leads to policies that don't improve the work conditions of nurses and other healthcare workers.

Hussain said it's difficult for people on the outside to understand what nurses face daily, including long hours and life-and-death situations.

"What we've seen is young nurses going to the private sector where they get paid better, working in pharmaceuticals or within insurance companies," he said. He pointed to the fact that nurses in Quebec are the lowest paid in Canada.

The JDM's figures reveal 2022 turnover rates of:

• 14 per cent at St Mary's Hospital
• 18 per cent at Lakeshore General Hospital
• 20 per cent at Sainte-Justine Hospital
• 26 per cent at Pontiac Hospital in Shawville

HOSPITAL SIT-INS BANNED

The staffing crunch being felt all over the province has prompted healthcare staff at some institutions to protest on the job -- an activity that is being challenged.

Staff at Maisonneuve Rosemont Hospital received an abrupt email recently from their health board declaring that sit-in-style protests are banned.

In a phone call, the CIUSSS de l'est verified it had sent the memo, and that they regret the tone of the message.

They said, however, that the decision was made by a labour tribunal and not by the health authority, something the workers' union disputes.

The last sit-in there was in January, when several nurses threatened to quit because of working conditions that include shifts as long as 16 hours. A mediator was named to manage the dispute.

The employees' union told CTV News that sit-ins are generally a spontaneous reaction to a lack of staffing on a given day and not a planned protest organized by the union.

"What has happened is that a nurse comes in for their shift and realizes that there aren't enough people on shift to offer the best and safest care to patients. That's when they hold a sit-in, until the employer finds someone, (or) finds a solution," explained union president, Denis Cloutier.

"They can last 15 minutes, but sometimes when a solution isn't quick to arrive, they last longer and that's when the employer challenges it," he said.