Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Healthcare Workers Urgently Need Public Support

By Chris Boyd, Local 302 President

It’s no secret that the Ontario healthcare system is broken. People need to understand that a broken system will also break the workers. Years of funding restrictions have left us without the staff to provide the care that is required, leaving us exhausted, injured, and burned out. In my experience as a personal support worker (PSW) and Local 302 president, I can assure you that I am gravely concerned about the consequences if the government does not provide funding for staffing increases very soon. We are calling on the public to let your elected representatives know that you want to see a greater number of workers in long term care homes and hospitals.

Working conditions have been so poor for so long that workers are leaving the field; in addition to having too few staff on the schedule, we now also are constantly working without all our shifts filled. Personally, I work in the nursing home sector, and I see a lack of enthusiasm in fellow PSWs—it’s demoralizing to always be working short. There aren’t enough people becoming PSWs and we’re overwhelmed. The ones who do become PSWs don’t stay in long term care for long. Some will try a couple shifts and then quit because they didn’t realize the job was so heavy.

The younger generation is overwhelmed by the violence and impossible demands of the job and justifiably seek a better work-life balance. So the staff is comprised of older people, like me, who are used to it. But we’re not getting any younger and our bodies won’t be able to handle the physical strain for much longer. So if not enough people are choosing the PSW profession, who will take care of us when we’re the ones in the homes?

Because of funding restrictions, the profession has become task-focussed instead of resident-focussed, when the residents are the reason why any of us are here. The other day, I walked by a resident’s room on my shift. She was sitting by the window, looking at a photo album, and visibly upset. I wanted to go and sit with her, and offer her comfort, but I couldn’t because there were so many call bells going off. It broke my heart that I had to do that to her. I used to tell the CLAC Ontario Healthcare Coordinator, Michael Reid: “this is the hardest job that I will ever love.” I don’t say that anymore.

We go into work every day knowing we are going to be kicked, punched, spat at, or verbally abused by the residents. These incidents have been rising primarily because we don’t have the staff to keep residents in a calmer state. When a PSW is injured as a result of resident violence, it is rarely reported because it takes time from the floor and they don’t want their coworkers to work shorthanded.

We’re all burned out. When we’re working shorthanded, we physically cannot give the care we want to give in our hearts. Many PSWs take shortened breaks or none at all. This is all time that should be spent resting and reenergizing so we can be at our physical and mental best when we’re back on the floor.

In my many years as a PSW, I’ve seen the long term care industry change dramatically. The Ministry has so many standards that we just can’t keep up. It’s not that we don’t want to, but we just don’t have the people power to make it work. I may be one PSW, but I know I’m not alone, and my concerns are shared by many. Unless the government does something to address these concerns, I’m afraid to see what will happen in the healthcare system.

Status quo is not acceptable for either the PSWs or the residents we care for.

Healthcare Workers Urgently Need Public Support

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