7 in 10 Ontario nurses say they can’t provide adequate patient care, study says

By Gabby Rodrigues  Global News

Posted August 3, 2022

A new study finds that nearly seven in 10 nurses in Ontario cannot provide adequate patient care with almost half saying they are considering leaving the profession for good.

A recent WeRPN (Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario) survey is raising the alarm over its findings that patient care is being critically compromised due to “staffing shortages and the standardization of unsafe workloads.”

The survey found that 68 per cent of nurses say they do not have enough time or resources to properly care for patients.

Sixty-six per cent said they’ve had to take on more patients with higher patient-to-nurse ratios.

READ MORE: ‘A nurse can’t be everywhere’: Ontario health care staff shortages prompt ER closures

The survey was conducted in May 2022 and called “The State of Nursing in Ontario: A 2022 Review” and polled more than 760 RPNs across the province. It was a follow-up study from December 2020 to measure the conditions of the provincial health care system through the perspectives of nurses.

It also found 86 per cent of nurses surveyed said they have been asked to take on more shifts or overtime to cover staffing shortages.

When it comes to workplace atmosphere, the study also found that moral distress is up and mental health has been impacted.

Four in five nurses (79 per cent) said they are experiencing moral distress on the job as they feel what is ethically correct to do differs from what they are tasked to do. This is up from 68 per cent reported in the 2020 survey.

The same number of nurses (four out of five) also reported “reaching their breaking point” at their job. The study found 94 per cent of nurses said they experience “increased stresses from their daily work.”

READ MORE: Staffing issues at Toronto hospital lead to critical care bed alert

Although unchanged from the 2020 survey, nurses reported a significant mental health toll. Eighty-six per cent of nurses said their mental health is hurting because of the work they do and 67 per cent said they do not feel they have enough mental support.

Pride in nursing plummeted, according to the survey, which reported only 36 per cent said, “they had never been prouder to be a nurse.” In the 2020 study, the figure was 67 per cent.

What’s more, nearly one in two nurses, or 47 per cent, are now considering leaving the profession. This has jumped significantly from 34 per cent reported in the 2020 survey.

“The #1 catalyst for this is wage dissatisfaction. An overwhelming majority of nurses (91 per cent) believe they are not fairly compensated for their role as an RPN,” the study said.

As well, one out of three RPNs working in long-term care said they will leave the sector.

“I believe these findings will shock the public,” said Dianne Martin, chief executive officer of WeRPN. “Alarmingly, this is now being normalized.

NDP Leader Singh calls on Liberals to fix Canada's health-care system amid "national crisis"
Canada's NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called on Justin Trudeau and the Liberals on Thursday to take action to fix Canada's health-care system, in what he called a "national crisis."

Thu, August 4, 2022

 

Brittney Griner's supporters react to her 9-year prison sentence in Russian drug case

Liz Roscher
Thu, August 4, 2022

A Russian court on Thursday found Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner guilty on a drug smuggling charge, and sentenced her to nine years in prison. Griner has been detained since Feb. 17, when she was detained at a Russian airport when authorities found a vape cartridge containing hashish oil in her luggage. Griner was also fined $1 million rubles, which is approximately $16,300.

Griner's wife, teammates and fellow WNBA players, as well as athletes from all over sports, have been calling for her release ever since. The U.S. government recently proposed a prisoner swap that would have released convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout from jail in the U.S. in exchange for Griner and fellow jailed American Paul Whelan, who is currently serving a 16-year sentence for espionage.

After Griner's nine-year sentence was handed down, President Joe Biden released a statement calling her continued detention "unacceptable."

The WNBA and NBA released a joint statement about Griner's sentence.

As did the WNBA Players Association and the Mercury.

Griner's agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, wrote in a three-part tweet:

"Today’s sentencing of Brittney Griner was severe by Russian legal standards and goes to prove what we have known all along, that Brittney is being used as a political pawn. We appreciate and continue to support the efforts of [President Joe Biden] and [Secretary Antony Blinken] to get a deal done swiftly to to bring Brittney, Paul [Whelan] and all Americans home. Bringing Brittney and Paul home is the sole objective, and as such, we should use all available tools. We must remain focused and unified.

"This is a time for compassion and a shared understanding that getting a deal done to bring Americans home will be hard, but it is urgent and it is the right thing to do."

There was also a showing of both outrage and love from her many supporters, who are hoping she'll continue to be strong until the U.S. negotiates her release.

Several reporters tweeted important information about the true context of Griner's sentence, noting that after her appeals are exhausted, the U.S. government can then work toward getting her home.

Ottawa apologizes for 'radical social engineering' experiment on First Nation

Wed, August 3, 2022 


PEEPEEKISIS CREE NATION — Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller delivered an apology on behalf of the federal government to a Saskatchewan First Nation for an “experiment in radical social engineering” that forced a farming colony on the community's land.

Miller spoke in Peepeekisis Cree Nation, in southeastern Saskatchewan, saying Canada failed to protect the nation’s interest in the land and created divisions in the community.

The First Nation was home to the File Hills Colony, which is a little acknowledged part of Canada’s residential school history.

As part of the scheme, residential school graduates from Manitoba and elsewhere in Saskatchewan were transferred onto the Cree Nation’s land without the community’s consent.

Miller says the actions led to a loss of culture through restricted access to land and household visits, as well as a ban on cultural practices.

The First Nation agreed to a $150-million federal settlement last year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2022.

The Canadian Press

Close encounter with humpback whale terrifies — and delights — B.C. family

Fri, August 5, 2022 

Aleks Mount was whale watching off the coast of Vancouver Island with his family on Tuesday when a humpback whale got up close and personal. (Aleks Mount - image credit)

A B.C. family had a thrilling experience off the coast of Vancouver Island when a humpback whale spent almost an hour rubbing up against their boat, spinning around, and flapping its fins.

Aleks Mount was whale watching with his family on Tuesday, northeast of Campbell River, when the whale got friendly.

When they first spotted the humpback about 100 metres away, Mount said he immediately shut off his engine, intending to keep his distance.

But the whale dove underwater only to resurface less than a minute later below their boat.

Mount said he and his family were at first terrified of the creature, which he described as the size of a school bus.

"All it has to do is flip its tail and the boat will be in the air."


Mount's video footage shows the whale spinning and flipping around just inches from the boat, occasionally spraying them from its blow hole.

"I could just touch it. It was just rubbing gently against the boat, going under, coming out," said Mount, who has been an enthusiastic whale watcher for about four years.

Mount realized he could not escape as he did not know how the whale would react to the sudden sound of the engine, and was worried the boat's propeller may cut the whale.

So they watched and waited.

Aleks Mount

Luckily, Mount said, the whale only hit the boat once with its fin, leaving a slight bend in the boat's railing and a few minor scratches.

A marine specialist later identified the humpback to Mount as a young male named Neowise.

Mount said they are very lucky that the whale was so aware of its body and didn't do more damage.

"I'll forget my name and who I am before I forget this ... it felt really special sharing that moment," said Mount.

Gentle giants

Andrew Trites, director of the marine mammal research unit at the University of British Columbia, said despite hearing a few recent reports of humpbacks engaging with boats, this is the closest one he has seen.

"Nothing quite as extra special as this one," said Trites.

Trites believes the whale may have been attracted to the boat's depth sounder — a device that measures the depth of the water below a boat by emitting sound.

This high frequency noise is similar to the sound whales use to communicate, according to Trites.

"For the humpback whale, this appears to be another living being that's almost its own size, it's something it can interact with," said Trites.

Aleks Mount

Mount confirmed his depth sounder was on before he shut the boat off when he spotted the whale.

Trites said whales may not have full control over where their tail and fins are flopping, causing a potentially dangerous situation.

"These are gentle giants, but they can do a lot of damage unintentionally ... it could be potentially lethal," said Trites.

Trites said humpback whales were hunted to near-extinction about a century ago, and have only started re-appearing off B.C.'s coast in the past 20 years.

As people encounter whales more, Trites said education is crucial to developing a mutually respectful relationship with the creatures.

He recommends boats keep distance — switching off a boat's depth-sounder could be one way to do so, he said — and go at a slow pace when they spot a whale.

Whale you be mine?

It is typical for young male humpbacks to engage in playful behavior, according to Trites.

He said while these humpback whales mate in the winter when they travel South, young males will often spend time practicing their love songs prior to mating season.

"It may well have been that this young male was actually singing to the boat," said Trites.

"They've got to practice with someone, why not a boat?"

FASCISTS CREATE CRISIS
Italy's Salvini pledges to move migrant centers to N. Africa

Thu, August 4, 2022 


MILAN (AP) — Italy’s firebrand former interior minister, Matteo Salvini, put migration at the center of his electoral campaign during a visit Thursday to Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa, a gateway for tens of thousands of people crossing the perilous central Mediterranean Sea to Italian territory each year.

Salvini pledged to move screening centers for people seeking political asylum to northern Africa, in a bid to prevent economic migrants from pouring into Italy. He said just 15% of current arrivals qualify as refugees.

He also voiced concern that a migrant reception center on Lampedusa was nearing collapse due to overcrowding, calling it “unworthy of a civilized country.”

Salvini distinguished between those who qualify for asylum, saying “they cannot be massed on the ground on mattresses in 40-degree heat,″ and those who do not: ”We cannot throw open the doors of Italy to thousands of clandestine migrants who are not fleeing war,″ he said.

Salvini is pledging a return to his tough-on-immigration policies should the right-wing coalition win the Sept. 25 parliamentary vote. The early elections were forced after his right-wing anti-migrant League party, along with two other parties, yanked their support for outgoing Premier Mario Draghi’s 17-month-old pandemic unity government.

During Salvini’s short but dramatic tenure as interior minister in 2018-19, migrant arrivals in Italy dropped sharply as he pursued policies of deterrence, including long government delays in assigning safe ports to rescue ships. He is currently on trial in Sicily, charged with kidnapping in one such case, while the charges were thrown out in another.

“I think in 2018-2019 Italy was a safer country, more protected, more normal, more European,″ Salvini said. ”Lampedusa is the gateway of Europe. It cannot be the refugee camp of Europe.”

While his League led the right-wing coalition in Italy's 2018 election, it sank in popularity after joining Draghi’s consensus government. It is now lagging badly in the polls behind another right-wing coalition partner, the far-right Brothers of Italy led by Giorgia Meloni.

That leaves Salvini fighting for political relevance. If the right-wing coalition wins the Sept. 25 vote, the leader of the party with the most votes would be tapped as premier to form a new government.

Meloni is seeking to become Italy's first female premier, but Salvini is not counting himself out.

Not everyone on the island of Lampedusa was keen to be part of Salvini’s electoral rhetoric.

The island’s mayor is worried about the impact on tourism, and insists the current system of transferring migrants to Sicily and beyond was averting the emergency situations experienced during the peak arrival years from 2014 to 2016.

With new arrivals daily from Libya and Tunisia, migrants typically spend less than 24 hours on the island.

“The crucial element is not to slow down or jam the transfer to the mainland,” Mayor Filippo Mannino told The Associated Press on Thursday.

A handful of aid workers and activists held a sit-in in Lampedusa ahead of Salvini’s arrival, displaying banners disputing his depiction of an island swamped by migrants.

“Whoever comes to Lampedusa, doesn’t see migrants. There is no emergency. The only emergency is for the migrants who are at the (migrant center),″ said Luca Casarini, an activist and chief of mission on Mare Jonio Italian rescue ship. He accused Salvini of propaganda to gain votes ”on the skin of people ... who die at sea, who are much worse off than us.”

Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman with the Italian offices of the International Organization for Migration, said while migrant arrivals are up this year by about one-third over 2021, they are still well below the 120,000 to 180,000 registered annually from 2014-2016.

“These are not emergency numbers. We are not facing a numerical emergency. But we are facing a humanitarian emergency,’’ Di Giacomo said, citing 905 people who have died or gone missing at sea this year.

____

David Lohmueller in Lampedusa, and Paolo Santalucia in Rome contributed.

___

Follow all AP stories on global migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration.

Colleen Barry, The Associated Press

Italy's Salvini puts focus on migration ahead of Sept. vote

Thu, August 4, 2022 


MILAN (AP) — Italy’s former firebrand interior minister, Matteo Salvini, is campaigning to get his old job back with a stop Thursday on Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa, the gateway for tens of thousands of migrants arriving in Italy each year across the perilous central Mediterranean Sea.

Salvini is sounding the alarm that the migrant reception center on the island, which would rather be known as a summertime tourist destination, is “collapsing,” with more than 1,500 people crammed into a space designed, by his count, for 357.

“An absolute shame for Italy and for Europe,” Salvini said, accusing his successor of hiding the actual numbers of migrants coming through Lampedusa with transfers to Sicily and elsewhere.

Salvini is making immigration a key part of his campaign for Italy's parliamentary election next month. The Sept. 25th vote came after his right-wing anti-migrant League party, along with two other parties, yanked their support for outgoing Premier Mario Draghi’s 17-month-old pandemic unity government.

During Salvini’s short but dramatic tenure as interior minister in 2018-19, migrant arrivals in Italy dropped sharply as he pursued policies of deterrence, including instituting long government delays in assigning safe ports to rescue ships. He is currently on trial in Sicily, charged with kidnapping in one such case.

While his League led the right-wing coalition in Italy's 2018 election, it sank in popularity after joining Draghi’s government. It is now lagging in the polls behind another right-wing coalition partner, the far-right Brothers of Italy led by Giorgia Meloni.

Now, Salvini is fighting for his political relevance. If the right-wing coalition wins the Sept. 25 vote, the leader of the party with the most votes would be tapped as premier to form a new government and lesser parties will vie for Cabinet seats. Meloni is seeking to become Italy's first female premier.

Not everyone on the island of Lampedusa is keen to be part of Salvini’s electoral rhetoric. The island’s mayor is worried about the impact on tourism, and insists the current system of transferring migrants to Sicily and beyond was averting the emergency situations experienced during peak arrival years of from 2014 to 2016.

“The crucial element is not to slow down or jam the transfer to the mainland,” Mayor Filippo Mannino said.

Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman with the Italian offices of the International Organization for Migration, said while migrant arrivals are up this year by about one-third over 2021, they are still well below the 120,000 to 180,000 registered annually from 2014-2016.

“These are not emergency numbers. We are not facing a numerical emergency. But we are facing a humanitarian emergency,’’ Di Giacomo said, citing 905 people who have died or gone missing at sea this year.

____

David Lohmueller in Lampedusa, Sicily and Paolo Santalucia in Rome contributed.

___

Follow all AP stories on global migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration.

Colleen Barry, The Associated Press