“The nurses show up. Doctors appear. Paramedics appear. Throughout the system, the people who care about the people we care about most appear. Why the minister? [of health] and Premier Ford can’t show up?’ Ontario Liberal MP John Fraser said at Queen’s Park on Tuesday morning. While Jones has made several public appearances since being appointed to her new role on June 24, she has not addressed the staffing crisis that has led to dozens of hospital closings. The prime minister did not even address the current issue. CTV News Toronto and CP24 have reached out to the minister for an interview on several occasions since her inauguration, but in each attempt, the request has been declined. The most recent request was sent on Tuesday morning. In a statement issued last week, a Jones spokesman acknowledged that Ontario’s health care system is under pressure due to the challenge of maintaining required staffing levels. The Ontario Nurses Association says its members reported about 25 hospitals were forced to make changes over the weekend due to staff shortages across the province. “Either [they] had to reduce the capacity of emergency departments, ORs, beds, labor and delivery patients who had to be re-directed to other hospitals. It’s absolutely outrageous,” Ontario Nurses Association President Kathryn Hoey said Tuesday. Meanwhile, Dr. Adil Shamji, emergency physician and Liberal MPP for Don Valley East, says 13 different emergency departments in the province have been forced to close. “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. This follows news that an entire intensive care unit at a hospital in Bowmanville has been temporarily closed ahead of the long weekend. Shamjo said he resorted to sending a letter to Jones after several emails went unanswered. Fraser insisted there are measures available that the province “should have taken by now,” including repealing Bill 124, which caps a nurse’s salary increase at one per cent. He also urged the province to add more mental health supports, 10 paid sick days for all Ontario workers and speed up the credentialing of the tens of thousands of nurses sitting on the sidelines because they’ve been trained outside the country. “Put the hole in the boat,” Fraser said.
