Burnout, turnover fuels staff shortages at Hamilton Public Health: report
Published January 6, 2022 at 11:30 am
Hamilton Public Health Services (HPHS) is proposing some changes to its recruitment and retention practices in an effort to address critical staffing shortages.
According to a report in front of Hamilton’s Board of Health (BoH) on Monday (Jan. 10), HPHS is looking to convert 40 temporary positions into permanent roles as COVID-19, burnout and high turnover continue to exacerbate staffing shortages and employee retention.
“Staff turnover and fatigue is at a critical point, further adding to workforce pressures,” the report, submitted by Hamilton’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, said.
“The most significant staff turnover rate has occurred for the temporary nursing workforce at a rate of approximately 35%.”
At the start of the pandemic, HPHS redeployed much of its staff to the city’s response to COVID-19. As the pandemic dragged on and vaccinations rolled out, more health-care professionals were brought on board to help.
Despite efforts to bring more people on board and BoH approval to create and budget for more positions, shortages persisted.
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At one of the last BoH meetings of 2021, Richardson noted that HPHS had been working diligently to address staffing gaps but given that Hamilton is not the only municipality dealing with this issue, the recruitment market has proven very competitive.
“Many organizations in response have decided to recruit additional permanent staff in response, making temporary jobs unattractive,” Monday’s report notes.
“Given this competitive market, transitioning 40 FTE (full-time equivalent) temporary positions to permanent over complement positions is a significant lever in recruiting for key positions, retaining staff and most importantly creating a more stable workforce to effectively serve our community.”
It is felt when COVID-19 enters the endemic phase, these full-time positions will play a vital role in the ongoing response and will provide stability and diversity to a workforce that has been engaged in a prolonged emergency response.
“Successfully filling additional permanent postings will yield multiple benefits including greater stability and versatility of resources within the team, improved effectiveness and consistency of service delivery as well as provide significant security and peace of mind for our employees in what has perhaps been the most challenging public health environment we have experienced to date,” the report concludes.
“This stability and security will result in greater staff engagement and improved morale.”
The Board of Health meets virtually on Monday, Jan. 10 at 9:30 a.m. and can be viewed on the City of Hamilton’s YouTube channel.
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