November 24, 2022
Will the Minister Listen to Our Province’s Healthcare Workers?
During question period MPP France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) asked the Minister of Health, when will she listen to our province’s overworked health care workers?
“The Ontario Association of Medical Radiation Sciences is here today. They represent radiation therapists, sonographers, and radiological, nuclear medicine and MRI technologists. They are the health care professionals who perform critical diagnostic tests and therapy on the front lines of our health care system.
They recently polled their members who said.. they are overworked, burned out, and facing the same staffing shortages as all professionals working in health care right now. This is a message that all health care workers are trying to get the government to acknowledge and respond to. Minister, how long before the government takes action to deal with this health human resources crisis in medical radiation sciences?’’
The Ford government continues to ignore calls for the withdrawal of Bill 124, a bill which froze the wages of all public sector workers and has been cited as one of the main causes of the human resources crisis in Ontario’s health services.
“The Association of Medical Radiation Sciences is just the latest group of health professionals raising concerns about understaffing. The backlog of diagnostic MRIs and CAT scans will not improve without them.
Today, representatives from 295,000 health care workers are here to try to get the government to pay attention to this crisis, to listen to their solutions. Will the minister agree to listen to health representatives from OCHU, CUPE, ONA, OPSEU/SEFPO, Unifor and SEIU who are here today at Queen’s Park? They have solutions. Will you meet with them?”
Leaders from five major healthcare unions along with front-line care staff held a media conference today. They did so as all sectors of Ontario’s health care system are buckling under the weight of staff shortages. And to tell the Ford government that privatization is not the answer.