Nurses say healthcare funds should address staffing shortages

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston (second right) joins his fellow Canadian premiers for a meeting in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023 in Ottawa. Doctors and nurses in Nova Scotia say new money for health care from Ottawa must be directed towards primary care and increasing staffing levels.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

HALIFAX- Groups representing nurses and doctors are welcoming the federal government’s health-care funding proposal but say some of the increase must be used to bolster staffing and improve primary care in a system where there is accountability in how the cash is spent.

Linda Silas, president of the 200,000-member Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, said funding must be used to ease critical shortages across hospitals and nursing homes in order to have any real impact.

“Right now, our nurses are either leaving the workforce or going part-time, or are burning out because of the workload, the lack of flexibility and the too much overtime. That’s not addressed,” she said Wednesday.

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