RNAO sent the following letter on February 10 to Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Health Christine Elliott to convey our thoughts and priorities regarding the rollout. We also expressed our concerns regarding the premature lifting of the lockdown.
Ontario’s vaccination roll-out has stumbled out of the gate. Please take a moment to set things right. Join us in urging Premier Doug Ford to start Phase 2 of the roll-out by putting vaccinations into the hands of the thousands of nurses, physicians and pharmacists working in community care across this province. By making use of existing community care providers and their existing infrastructure, the vaccination roll-out can be accelerated across Ontario.
We’ve begun a new year with even more determination to address the challenges brought forward by the relentless COVID-19 virus. RNAO continues its central role in the media, speaking about key issues and continuing our advocacy efforts to mobilize change and help bring an end to this pandemic. This is a summary of our January interventions.
Just over one year ago, on January 25, 2020, the first COVID-19 case in Canada was reported. It has been a hard year for all Canadians, but especially for residents in long term care, their loved ones, and their nursing and support care staff. They have had no relief from suffering and hardship for a full year! Also, heart-wrenching have been the experiences and death for persons in ICU, away from their loved ones. We salute the heroic work of RNs, NPs, physicians, RTs and others who in these settings have tried so hard to save lives and sustain humanity under the most difficult circumstances. Indeed, health professionals in all sectors have and continue to give it their all – and remain dedicated to providing care despite the unimaginable challenges.
We are nearly a year into a pandemic of historic consequence for people's health, and nurses are being deeply impacted. Through this survey initiated by RNAO, we would like to learn additional ways we can support nurses and nursing students and advocate on your behalf during this trying period. We also want to hear from you about whether and how this pandemic has changed your health, your work, your attitude to your work and your future in nursing.
RNAO also offers its deepest condolences to RNAO member NP Sarah Bremner and her son Brandon – who lost their husband and father Jereld Bremner, and their son and brother Donny Bremner – due to a tragic snowmobiling accident. RNAO also extends heartfelt sympathies to RPN Brie Cudahy who lost her husband Bill Fournier in a tragic snowmobiling accident.
On January 27, 2020, I sent my first novel coronavirus report. Fast-forward a year, and…. we still have months to go, and perhaps even longer. The key factors that will greatly influence the days, weeks, months and perhaps years ahead depend mainly on two priorities. The first is how strongly the Ontario government implements policies aimed at controlling the virus. The second is how fast and effectively vaccination rollouts happen in Ontario, Canada and globally.
Nurses call on Premier Doug Ford to act swiftly to suffocate community spread of COVID-19 – now more than ever – given the rapidly spreading new strains. As with the vaccines, delay in taking bold action to support vulnerable populations that can’t afford to self-isolate is costing lives and putting our health system and its health-care workers at undue burden – physically and emotionally.
As health providers, vaccine hesitancy among co-workers, clients and patients poses a significant challenge and requires informed and effective communication approaches. We are grateful to Stephanie Elliott BSc(hon), Noah Ivers MD and Cora Constantinescu MD, FRCPC for contributing the following article presenting evidence-based communication tools.