Efforts to lure nurses from other provinces are underway in several parts of the country, but the head of a national nurses association says the poaching wonB次元官网网址檛 solve anything unless working conditions are improved.

B次元官网网址淲e know that nurses are facing inadequate working conditions, and that is the main reason many are leaving their jobs,B次元官网网址� Sylvain Brousseau, the president of the Canadian Nurses Association, said in an interview Thursday. B次元官网网址淚f working conditions and retention are not the focus, the new nurses recruited from other provinces may find themselves wanting to leave their jobs.B次元官网网址�

This week, Horizon Health Network, one of New BrunswickB次元官网网址檚 two health authorities, held three-day recruiting events in Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Its pitch to attract 120 nurses to the province includes the promise of an appealing life near the ocean with financial incentives of up to $20,000.

A spokesperson said recruiting from outside of New Brunswick isnB次元官网网址檛 new, and that itB次元官网网址檚 also hiring nurses through partnerships with universities in Maine and in India, as well as taking steps to retain workers. The provinceB次元官网网址檚 other regional health authority, Vitalit茅 Health Network, says it will be attending several career fairs in Quebec in the coming weeks.

Last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that the province will start automatically recognizing the credentials of health-care workers registered in other provinces and territories. B次元官网网址淎 doctor from British Columbia or a nurse from Quebec who wants to come and work in Ontario shouldnB次元官网网址檛 face barriers or bureaucratic delays to start providing care,B次元官网网址� Ford told a Jan. 19 news conference.

Newfoundland and Labrador has introduced incentives in an effort to lure home health-care workers with connections to the province, while Quebec said itB次元官网网址檚 looking to recruit internationally.

B次元官网网址淎ll provinces in Canada face the same challenge of a shortage of labour in their health-care systems,B次元官网网址� the office of Health Minister Christian Dub茅 said in a statement. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 in everyoneB次元官网网址檚 interest to recruit people internationally. Meanwhile, we continue to work so that our network becomes an employer of choice and to improve working conditions.B次元官网网址�

Brousseau said nurses need better pay, more support staff B次元官网网址� so they can focus on caring for patients B次元官网网址� and responsibility for fewer patients.

B次元官网网址淭hirty years ago on surgery, I had six patients during the day, seven to eight on the evening shift and 12 on night shift, and now itB次元官网网址檚 15 during the day in surgery in some places, or 10. This is too much,B次元官网网址� he said.

Brosseau said heB次元官网网址檇 also like to see an end to practices like mandatory overtime, which remains common in Quebec, and nurses being pressured to work ostensibly optional overtime shifts.

He said the nurses association isnB次元官网网址檛 opposed to nurses going to another province to work and that it has been calling for a reduction of barriers between provinces B次元官网网址� but that wonB次元官网网址檛 fix the problems.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not by going to poach nurses from one province to (another) that you will solve the health-care system crisis that we are going through right now,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 by giving them better working conditions and a better health-care environment.B次元官网网址�

Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, a University of Ottawa professor and director of the Canadian Health Workforce Network, said the efforts to recruit nurses across provincial boundaries are a symptom of a wider problem.

While itB次元官网网址檚 not the first time Canadian health-care systems have looked to other parts of the country for staff, the shortage of nurses and other health-care workers is worse than before.

B次元官网网址淚 think what is new is the extent of the problem and that every province is in these circumstances, and this is not just a Canadian problem. This is happening across the world,B次元官网网址� she said in an interview Thursday.

Solving CanadaB次元官网网址檚 nursing shortage needs to start with retention, she argues; recruitment alone canB次元官网网址檛 solve it. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 focusing on one part of the challenge, of bringing more in, and weB次元官网网址檙e not looking at all of those who are leaving,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not a long-term strategy.B次元官网网址�

Bourgeault said governments need better data for workforce planning and that federal agencies, such as the Canadian Institute for Health Information and Statistics Canada, could be used to give provinces better tools.

Mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios would also help retain nurses, she said, but they could in the short term lead to longer wait times.

B次元官网网址淚 think that as a society, we need to have a crucial conversation about how we manage this crisis going forward,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址擩acob Serebrin, The Canadian Press