Our Cause
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how much support Ontario’s health care system needs to provide quality care to those in need. Nurse Practitioners are trained, ready and capable to tackle the gaps in Ontario’s health care network.
To continue serving Ontarians and best optimize our health care system, Nurse Practitioners must be properly integrated into service delivery and provided an opportunity to do more with their unique skill set.
These highly trained professionals can offer a wide array of services to various communities, including:
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Complete comprehensive health history and assessment
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Diagnosis of illness and injuries
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Provides treatment plans
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Orders and interprets diagnostic tests (MRI/CT authority coming July 1, 2022)
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Prescribes and manages medication, including controlled drugs and substances
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Provides counselling and education
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Refers clients to other health care professionals and specialists as necessary
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Order and interpret all laboratory tests
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Admit, treat, and discharge patients from hospitals
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Provide Palliative Care and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)
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Collaborates with physicians and other members of the health care team as necessary
The future of timely, reliable, and professional health care in Ontario includes Nurse Practitioners. We need your voice to bring positive change to our current and future generations who deserve quality, accessible care.
To create this future, we’re asking the Ontario Government for the following:
Integration & Inclusion
In order to maximize the skillset Nurse Practitioners (NPs) offer, better integration into the health care system is required. Currently, patients are not enrolled or rostered to their NP health care provider, nor is the patient level health care data captured by current systems in Ontario. Ensuring seamless referrals and continuous care to patients is a standard of care all Ontarians deserve. Additionally, there is one funding model for Nurse Practitioners in Ontario, that creates barriers to fully realizing their potential in a number of health care settings. We need more flexible funding models to better integrate Nurse Practitioners across the health care continuum.
Nurse Practitioners continue to provide vital services to Ontarians, offering the majority of medical services most patients require on a day-to-day basis. Building a health care system focused on team-based, primary care is necessary for so many communities, particularly in Northern Ontario. NPs can make an incredibly valuable contribution if properly integrated and included as a valued community health care resource.
Education
Nurse Practitioners have received additional graduate experience and training to significantly expand their scope of practice beyond a registered nurse (RN). The skills and training Nurse Practitioners receive is an invaluable addition to our hospitals and community care clinics, which is why we want to grow the profession to increase the capacity for care.
We can equip the next generation with the tools, training, and skills necessary to support the future of healthcare in our province by increasing the number of seats available in NP programs in Ontario.
Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics (NPLC)
Nurse Practitioners are consistently filling gaps in Ontario’s health care system, specifically in primary care settings, and providing their wide array of comprehensive and team-based services across the province. NPLCs are a major success for their patients who are receiving timely, quality care. With 25 successful clinics already in place across Ontario, we believe Nurse Practitioners can serve even more communities in the future.
We ask the Ontario Government to increase the number of Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics in Ontario from the current cap of 25 to ensure more access to healthcare services for the people of Ontario.