Quebec nursing order denounces cuts in management positions

The $1.5 billion in spending cuts required from institutions to restore budgetary balance in the Quebec health network will have an impact on the retention of nursing staff and inevitably patient care, warned the recently re-elected president of the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ).

At the OIIQ convention, Luc Mathieu heard from nurses that there would be cuts in management advisor and care advisor positions. He stressed the importance of these positions to guide and support nurses, particularly new hires.

“These people do not provide direct care to patients. They support people, young people who are entering the profession,” explained Mathieu.

He spoke of certain cases that “are not anecdotal” where a new nurse will work in a CHSLD with many patients in her care.

“This is not an exceptional case. These young people, who do not have much experience and not much clinical support, are called upon to take care of (up to) 150 residents in CHSLDs. It is huge,” he said.

Mathieu specified that in CHSLDs, patients are often very sick and represent heavy and complex cases to treat.

“If a young nurse starts out, without clinical support, without anyone to refer to, it can be cause for panic. And that is why some leave the profession without looking back.”

The OIIQ is concerned about this situation.

“I spoke about it with a senior manager at Santé Québec,” shared Mathieu. That manager reportedly told him that if the agency goes ahead with the cuts to management and care advisors, “it would not be a win-win situation for the future.”

On the Quebec Ministry of Health website, the description of the nursing advisor position states that “collaboration with the co-managers, the integration sector and the advanced practice nurse is crucial. They contribute fully to various committees ensuring the development of nursing practice as well as the quality and safety of care for the emergency department.”

To date, the deficit in the health network is estimated at approximately $1 billion. Last Friday, Health Minister Christian Dubé acknowledged there could be an impact on services to the population and added that he wanted to be able to minimize these impacts.

“They say that there are no cuts for direct patient care. It is not direct care, it is indirect,” acknowledged Mathieu. “But the return on investment of providing clinical support makes all the difference.”

He explained that preceptors – also called mentors – support nurses throughout their careers. To emphasize the importance of their role, Mathieu gave the example of a general practitioner who refers to a specialist physician when he reaches the end of his skills for a particular case.

“In the case of nursing, it’s a bit the same thing given the evolution and complexity of care, chronic diseases, and the aging of the population,” Mathieu said, adding that in all the regions he visited, nursing staff told him about the need for clinical support.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews