Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has appointed Leigh Chapman to the newly reinstated role of chief federal nursing officer to offer input on the many issues facing Canada’s health systems.
The federal government announced it would reinstate the role in February in recognition of the central role nurses played in keeping health care afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since then, a national shortage of qualified nurses has continued to stretch health systems thin as they struggle to maintain care.
Unions representing nurses report their members are over worked, burnt out and leaving the industry in droves.
Duclos says Chapman will play a “crucial” role in helping to stabilize the health workforce and make sure nurses’ perspectives are included in health policy work.
Chapman is a registered nurse in Toronto with a PhD from the University of Toronto’s faculty of nursing.
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