Late last week CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE) presented the worrying findings of a new poll amongst 750 hospital workers in Kingston and across Ontario.
The poll revealed mental health effects of the work environment on employees and suggested that the staffing crisis in hospitals will worsen without correction by the Ford government.
In the results, it was revealed 43% per cent of staff say they dread going to work and 90% express a lack of confidence in the government’s plan to improve public health care.
Kingston’s numbers were slightly higher than the average across the province, with 44% of healthcare workers in Kingston stating they are considering or somewhat considering leaving their job within the next year.
These poll results also support recent research by OCHU/CUPE warnings of a staffing crisis in the hospital sector, which contributes to delayed treatment, emergency room closures, pressure on existing staff, and overall poorer quality of care.
