Local physicians are warning of dire consequences from nursing shortages in northern Ontario First Nation communities.
Forty-seven doctors from the Sioux Lookout region have sent a letter to Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller, urging the federal government to immediately increase funding for nursing, support staff and housing.
It states nursing conditions and resources were woefully inadequate before the pandemic and COVID-19 has now brought the issue to a new crisis level.
They say mental health emergencies have been increasing due to prolonged community isolation, while preventive care has been further deprioritized.
The letter states staffing numbers remain stagnant at pre-pandemic levels and communities need administrative staff, infrastructure, and housing to support personnel.
The doctors say most healthcare workers are forced to share accommodations, eliminating their ability to properly self-isolate when traveling from “red zones”.
They add this has put front-line workers and communities at unacceptable risk.
The MPP for Kiiwetinoong is urging Premier Doug Ford to help lobby the federal government for increased funding for nursing, support staff and housing in northern Ontario.
Sol Mamakwa says COVID-19 has spread to five communities in his riding and it’s completely outrageous that both levels of government have been ignoring the calls for help.
He accuses the province of playing jurisdictional games with the lives and health of the people of Kiiwetinoong.
The NDP Critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation says Doug Ford has ignored the chronic shortages of health care in fly-in Northern communities, lack of safe housing, and the very basics like the need for clean drinking water for families.
He says the pandemic has worsened the existing mental health crisis and immediate help is needed.
Doug Ford should take immediate action on the call from 47 doctors from the Sioux Lookout region for the federal government to urgently increase funding for nursing, support staff and housing, said @solmamakwa, NDP MPP for Kiiwetinoong. https://t.co/WLCBbMT3Ub
— Ontario NDP (@OntarioNDP) January 29, 2021
