Survey points to toxic Canadian health care workplace

Burn-out, stress, mistrust and a feeling of abandonment by leadership are key takeaways from a recent survey of nurses and doctors across Canada.

The survey, conducted by brand consultants Blue Ivy Group at the end of September to early October, spoke with 359 healthcare providers from coast-to-coast to better understand how they felt about the state of Canada's health care system.

“We found alarming data, of course, as it relates to the toxicity of the workforce and the intent to leave,” said Stacy Parker, managing director and co-founder of Blu Ivy Group on The Sam Laprade Show. “It's the combination of that under-funding, burnout, poor effort at retention, awful working conditions and retirement that is leaving us in a terrible situation with a health care industry.”

According to Parker, of those surveyed, 75 per cent of nurses and 69 per cent of doctors intended on leaving the industry in the next 12 months. 

“The fact that even in October (before the surge of respiratory viruses like RSV and the flu), they were talking about one nurse alone in an emergency room, who might be a novice, nurses missing breaks, eight to 12 critical emergency patients being covered by one single nurse,” said Parker. “Now you add another peak with RSV and COVID. It is terrifying.”

“We've lauded our healthcare workers as frontline heroes risking their lives and sacrificing their well-being to keep us safe. But the truth is that they are human—just like us,” stated Parker in the report's press release. “When we elevate our healthcare workers to hero status, we ignore their humanity. Heroes don't need our help, but humans do. Working under such punishing conditions has taken a toll, and many have reached their limit.”

Many surveyed are looking for a total overhaul of the system, calling for widespread firing of directors and managers who are often “three people doing a one-person job,” according to a nurse. 

Another nurse who took part in the survey said she used to have three managers and now answers to more than 20. “No one is held accountable. It's a horrifying top-heavy disaster and a huge waste of health care money,” they stated.

For Parker, some of the solutions include increasing funding immediately, attracting recently retired workers back to the workforce, drawing back those who have left for the private sector or the United States for better pay, and fast-tracking the recruitment of trained immigrants.

“There are certainly decisions that can be made rapidly to support changes to the way our workers are treated,” said Parker.

Listen to the full interview with Stacy Parker on The Sam Laprade Show below.