RNAO members did some door knocking this fall, visiting the offices of MPPs, many of whom took office for the first time following the June provincial election. The visits, an annual RNAO event known as Queen’s Park on the Road, give RNs, NPs and nursing students the chance to sit down with their local representative and discuss nursing and health priorities that affect the care and well-being of people in their communities. To date, 36 Queen’s Park on the Road visits have taken place and 25 others are being co-ordinated. Here are some of the key issues that have come up in meetings:  

• mandating RN vacancies in hospitals be posted and filled, and that all new nursing hires in acute care and cancer care hospitals be RNs 
• ensuring all first home care assessments are conducted 
• by RNs 
• increasing access to health care by enabling NPs to work to their full scope 
• changing funding models in long-term care and supporting minimum staffing levels to improve quality of care and resident safety
• making sure the premier’s pledge to increase access to public dental services for low income seniors is extended to all Ontarians living on low incomes
• ensuring all communities that require ‘consumption and treatment services’ are approved and funded 
• implementing recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
• developing a climate change plan that ensures Ontario can meet its greenhouse gas emission targets

Visit QPOR.RNAO.ca for more information and links to a photo gallery.