麻豆影视

Skip to main content

National system for tracking health-care staff needed to address future challenges: CMA president

Share

A national tracking system for health-care workers 鈥 with information on what training they have, where they're located and what their career plans are 鈥 would make a "significant difference" in addressing future staffing challenges, the president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) says.

Speaking to CTV's Your Morning on Thursday, Dr. Katharine Smart said the health-care system is facing a serious human resources "crisis," which she says is largely due to a lack of planning.

With much of staffing data siloed across the country, Smart said having a national "lens" on who is needed in the system, and where, would help in future planning.

"Part of the reason we are where we are today is we have not planned well, and now all of a sudden we're caught with no redundancy in the system," she said.

This lack of planning, along with "huge attrition" among nurses and physicians, has created a "distressing workplace environment for people," Smart added

The CMA included the idea of a as part of a series of proposed solutions, released Wednesday, to address the current health-care "crisis."

The proposals from the CMA come as the latest job numbers from Statistics Canada, released on Aug. 5, show the number of people working in health care and social assistance , falling by 22,000. However, employment in the industry changed little compared to the same month last year.

There were also 143,400 job vacancies in health care and social assistance in May, up 20 per cent from May 2021, according to StatCan.

While some provinces have announced efforts recently to try and bring more health-care staff into the system, including , Smart said another challenge is trying to retain people who are often working in poor conditions.

"So I think if we don't get serious about understanding and addressing the health human resource crisis, we're going to continue to see a deterioration of the quality of care in our country and we're going to continue to lose people from the system, and that's not something that we can afford to have happen," she said.

Watch the full interview with Dr. Katharine Smart at the top of the article. With files from The Canadian Press.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Why brain aging can vary dramatically between people

Researchers are uncovering deeper insights into how the human brain ages and what factors may be tied to healthier cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or even playing a musical instrument.

The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association.

A man who was critically injured in a police-involved shooting in Hamilton late Sunday afternoon has died in hospital, says the province鈥檚 police watchdog.

Local Spotlight

For the second year in a row, the 鈥楪ift-a-Family鈥 campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.

Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.

A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.

As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.

A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts 鈥 not for themselves, but for those in need.

A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.

Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.

A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.