These new nursing positions will help patients throughout the health-care system - in home care and community care, primary health care, hospitals, long-term care homes and mental health care programs in schools, the province stated.
Among the new nursing positions are:
- 126 rapid response nurses who visit patients with high-risk conditions in their home 24 hours after being discharged from hospital.
- 200 nurses to care for long-term care home residents with complex and challenging behaviours.
- 191 telemedicine nurses to support patients in remote areas while they receive care from specialists through video hook-up.
- 144 nurses working in schools to identify and help students with mental health or addiction issues.
Through its Nursing Strategy, the province is improving the recruitment, retention and distribution of nurses throughout Ontario, according to the news release.
"These new nurses will improve frontline care by making sure patients get the right care where and when they need it,” Deb Mathews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, said. “No one works more closely with patients than our nurses, who play key roles co-ordinating home care and providing preventative care in long-term care homes, outreach services in the community, and surgical support in our hospitals."
Quick Facts:
- There are more than 126,573 nurses employed in nursing in Ontario, 15,000 more than in 2003- More than two-thirds of nurses are working full time in Ontario - an increase of approximately 33 per cent since 2003.
Posted by Arron Pickard
