'You'll see': Quebec health minister promises bold proposals to solve critical nurse shortage
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube is promising a plan with bold and original ideas to try to attract thousands of nurses back to the public health network and prevent a breakdown of services.
On Friday, during a scrum with journalists in Lévis, Minister Dube reaffirmed his commitment to doing everything possible to offer nurses a more attractive work environment, different from what they’ve known until now, to convince them to return to the public system.
For years, nurses have complained about the widespread practice of demanding mandatory overtime, which regularly forces them to work exhausting double shifts.
The magnitude of the current crisis, with a shortage of over 4,000 nurses keeping the network from functioning normally, is now pushing the Legault government to pay closer attention to their grievances.
Minister Dube promised to announce new incentives next week, both financial and professional, that he believes will bring back nurses who have opted for early retirement in recent years or who have chosen to practice in the private sector.
He intends to be bold in the way he goes about it, he said.
“You'll see," said the minister.
"We're going to make announcements that might have surprised us a few months or a few years ago, but which will be prompted by the fact that we've looked at new ways of doing things with the pandemic."
While he waits for nurses' reaction to these soon-to-be-announced short-term incentives, Dube is also planning to implement a more long-term, global reorganization, he said, with "much more structural proposals on the table."
The day before, the minister had pledged to prevent any service disruptions in the health network, despite the significant shortage of personnel.
He's also contending with the likelihood the problem will worsen as of October 15, the date by which all health-care staff in Quebec will have to be double vaccinated against COVID-19 to stay on the job.
Those who don’t comply will be suspended without pay for an indefinite period. It’s a scenario that suggests the situation will become even more difficult to manage, as there are an estimated 20,000 unvaccinated employees in the network, at least half of whom provide direct patient care.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 17, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.