Statement from Leader of the Official Opposition Patrick Brown Marking National Nursing Week

The following is a statement from Leader of the Official Opposition Patrick Brown marking National Nursing Week: 

“National Nursing Week serves as an opportunity to highlight the importance and value of some of our province’s hardest workers – Ontario’s registered nurses, registered practical nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students. 

It is nurses who see us through illness, keep a patient on track towards wellness, and go well beyond their duty for their patients, despite year after year being forced to do more with less.

The Ontario Government’s ongoing mismanagement of the health care system is rationing access to the health care services patients need, and deserve – directly impacting the quality of care Ontario’s dedicated nursing staff can provide.

Since 2015, the Ontario Government has cut approximately 1,440 nursing positions. Each nursing cut this government makes means more time that families have to wait to access much needed health care.

Nurses live the challenges faced by our health care system every single day, always doing so with a smile and their patients’ best interests at heart.

I want to thank you for all the work you do – whether it’s working directly with patients, working in administration, or those who are shaping the future of the nursing profession through education and research.”