As a nurse practitioner practising in
Northern Ontario I have written to the premier to urge his
government to live up to its campaign promises to hire more
nurses and nurse practitioners, and to ensure full-time
employment for both.
It is time to act now before we find
ourselves in the middle of another health-care crisis.
There have been no new nurse practitioner
positions announced since the last class graduated in
2003.
Under services communities continue to wait
for funding announcements so they can hire nurse
practitioners.
I urge the premier to remove the barriers to
practise that nurse practitioners face every day.
These barriers result in our patients having
to face needless delays in access to health care. We understand
budget deficits are higher than forecast, however, removing
these barriers to practise will save this province a
substantial amount of money. So, why delay any further?
Nurses in Ontario support publicly funded and
accessible health care.
We voted for change Oct. 2. It is now time to
deliver on health-care promises and ensure that Ontario regains
its ability to provide timely, equitable and comprehensive
health care for all its citizens.
Marilyn Butcher
Nurse Practitioner