Resignations are adding up in the health network, despite the granting of attraction and retention bonuses by Quebec. From December 2021 to today, 478 orderlies, nursing assistants and nurses left the ship, according to data obtained by The duty from 16 health establishments.
To face the shortage of manpower, the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, must announce this Tuesday new measures to attract staff and retain caregivers in the health network.
The government wants to open 1,000 beds to accommodate patients with COVID-19.
Quebec is trying by all means to recruit health workers. More than 20,000 health network employees are absent due to COVID-19. Some 30,000 others are also affected for other reasons, such as sick leave or maternity leave.
At a press briefing last week, Minister Dubé said he was in discussions with the unions to find solutions to the labor shortage. He had indicated that the Treasury Board and the Ministry of Labor were involved in this file.
Insufficient premiums
So far, the Legault government’s efforts to bring nurses back into the network through bonuses have proven to be below expectations, a few days before the deadline. As of January 6, a total of 1,779 people had agreed to come and work in the public network, far from the objective of 4,000 workers that Quebec had set itself in “a very short-term horizon”.
The government first relaxed the conditions associated with premiums, in addition to postponing the deadline by one month – to January 14 – so that healthcare professionals signal their interest. Quebec then increased the premium offered to nurses to $ 30,000 in remote regions.
In addition to 1,779 people hired as of January 6, 4,821 people who worked part-time have moved to full-time, according to figures from the Ministry of Health. In comparison, as of December 9, 1,356 people had been hired and 4,254 had accepted a full-time position.