Ontario is out with a $35M plan to add 2000 nurses to the health care system.
The funding will be used to increase enrolment in nursing education programs in publicly-assisted colleges and universities across the province.
The new spaces will be available for Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 cohorts and will introduce approximately 1,130 new practical nurses and 870 registered nurses into the health care system.
“Our Government committed to ensuring residents in long-term care receive, on average, four hours of direct care per day. To make this a reality, tens of thousands of new staff need to be hired to provide this care — including registered nurses and practical nurses.” said Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Long-Term Care. “Today’s investment supports our plan to shore up staffing in long-term care and address the need for nurses across the health care system.”
The funding will also expand clinical education placements for nursing students and personal support worker students in the long-term care sector.