Manitoba families are benefiting from having more nurses providing front-line health care services, as the number of nurses working in the province continues to grow. This announcement was made by Health Minister Sharon Blady during National Nursing Week, which runs May 11 to 17.
“Manitoba’s nurses are there when families need them the most. During National Nursing Week, I want to acknowledge and thank the province’s thousands of dedicated nurses for the care they provide,” said Minister Blady. “Manitoba’s investments in training, recruitment and retention of nurses means there are more nurses working and training in our province than ever before, which is good for patients, good for nurses and good for our health-care system.”
Newly released statistics from Manitoba’s independent nursing colleges’ show the number of nurses working in the province continues to grow, reaching an all time high of 17,806, a net gain of 3,714 since 1999.
In addition to annual reports released by Manitoba’s independent nursing colleges, Manitoba Health has released its annual Nursing Labour Market Supply report, which is intended to monitor and describe the current nursing workforce in Manitoba.
According to that report, the government’s 2011 commitment to hire 2,000 new nurses has been exceeded, Minister Blady said. As of 2014, data from the nursing colleges’ show 2,419 nurses are in practice including the replacement of an estimated 1,731 nurses who retired and a net gain of 688 more nurses.
“We knew we were going to see more nurses choose to retire, and we thank those nurses for their hard work and commitment to Manitoba families,” said Minister Blady. “Any responsible commitment to hire more nurses would need to take this into account. I’m pleased our training, recruitment and retention efforts have allowed us to not only replace the nurses who have chosen to retire, but also increase our nursing workforce to record levels.”
As part of the renewal of the collective agreement that was signed with the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) in April 2014, work continues on ways to optimize patient care and support long-term sustainability within the health-care system, Minister Blady said. The four-year agreement was supported by more than 90 per cent of MNU members.
The minister said this work is also focused on:
- improved scheduling practices to reduce overtime and the use of agency nurses,
- creating a balance of full- and part-time positions, and
- improved work-life balance for nurses.
“This government’s focus on recruiting and training more nurses has been critical in making our nursing workforce stronger, but what I am most proud of is the work we have done to make the places where our nurses work healthier,” said Sandi Mowat, president, Manitoba Nurses Union. “In the 1990s, only one in five Manitoba nurses would recommend their profession. Today, four in five nurses would recommend being a nurse in Manitoba.”
