Retired nurses want to fight COVID-19. So why is Ontario so slow to call them back?

When retired Toronto nurse Julie Richardson saw the impact of the pandemic on health-care staff in Ontario, she decided she needed to do something.

"I kept saying to myself, 'I need to reach out and help. I want to help,'" said Richardson, 66, a former intensive-care nurse.

Six weeks ago, she completed an application through the government's online portal — HealthForceOntario.

"I heard nothing for a month," she told CBC Toronto.

She said she got an email a week ago Friday asking if she would work in a nursing home and if she was available to start right away.

 "I said yes. Then I heard nothing."

As the Ontario government declares it needs "all hands on deck" to fight the pandemic and has called in the military to assist front-line workers, retired nurses like Richardson — who want to go back to work — are questioning why they're left waiting for weeks for a response.

The association that represents registered nurses says some facilities haven't been proactive in reaching out to them for help and questions how staffing is being managed, particularly at places where it's most needed.  

'What has taken so long for them to reach out?'

For retired registered nurses to return to work, they need to follow a series of procedures, including getting reinstated if they do not have an active licence.

The College of Nurses has brought in what's called an Emergency Assignment Class, in which those nurses can register without a fee. The college says it's expediting those applications while still ensuring they "meet the requirements to provide safe care."

Retired nurse Mary Lachapelle, who was working when SARS killed 44 people in Ontario in the early 2000s, began the process to be reinstated on March 19.

"Working through SARS, you just know how stretched everybody is. And I haven't been away from it that long," said Lachapelle, who lives in Trent Hill, Ont. and worked in a long-term-care home until June of 2018. After that, she worked for a disability management company until her retirement in November 2019.

"All the medical teams are working so hard and an extra set of hands — or a few more — I thought would be really helpful."

Last week, Lachapelle was contacted by HealthForceOntario and is now hopeful she'll be back to work.

"I was really surprised it took that long," she said. 

Lachapelle — who is in her mid-60s — has requested not to work on the front-lines, but hopes her experience in long-term care homes can be of some help.

On the other hand, some retirees like Richardson said they are willing to work on the front-lines and aren't being contacted.

"The situation is very dire and people are dying. I reached out to them as they asked me to do. I have an abundance of experience … What has taken so long for them to reach out?" said Richardson, who told CBC News she was finally contacted on Friday by health officials.

Richardson is now questioning why the Ontario government is calling in the military to help when nurses like her are sitting on the sidelines. 

"Why would [Premier Doug Ford] bring in the army before he would bring in trained nurses?"

'There is a disconnect'

The head of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) said there are thousands of nurses — ready, willing and able to work — but it's not receiving many requests from facilities like long-term care homes for staff.

The association set up a portal in mid-March called VIANurse, which allows organizations seeking nurses to contact them when they need more staff.

"There is a disconnect between what we hear in the media from organizations saying, 'We can't cope,' and then them actually approaching us or even responding to our calls, which is puzzling to me," said Dr. Doris Grinspun, CEO of the RNAO.

Grinspun said the RNAO put out a survey to its members last Friday asking how many are willing and ready to work in a nursing home with an active outbreak.

"In a matter of hours, we already had 130 people," said Grinspun.

She said last week the RNAO began discussions with the province about VIANurse and she's now "hopeful" they can work together to address staffing shortages.

In a statement to CBC Toronto about the delay in deploying retired nurses who are ready and willing to return to work, Ministry of Health spokesperson Hayley Chazan said the ministry is working with the RNAO to get them working where they're needed.

"We continue to hold regular conversations with the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario about how retired nurses can help assist us in our efforts to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. We thank them for their willingness to help during this difficult time," she said.