(Toula Drimonis/ Cult MTL) — “We have been pushed to the breaking point,” says Natalie Stake-Doucet, president of the Quebec Nurses Association. “More than 2,000 nurses in Quebec have quit since the pandemic hit. Hospital administrations and the Ministry of Health need to look at the structural problems forcing them to leave and contributing to staff shortages,” she says. “The way many hospitals function is highly problematic, yet I don’t see the government willing to address this.”
Ten months in, and in the middle of a second COVID wave, Quebec nurses and other healthcare workers may find themselves better prepared and protected against the virus, but they’re running on empty. With Canada officially surpassing 19,000 deaths from COVID (9,500+ in Quebec alone) and 7,000 healthcare workers absent from work, they need more support.
Healthcare workers are overworked, physically and mentally exhausted, and often isolated to protect their families and friends from the virus. Added to this mix are a lockdown and a curfew as well as anti-maskers and those who insist on downplaying the severity of COVID-19. The toll on their mental health has been enormous. (…)