Frontline health care workers will speak out at SOS Medicare 3.0
Too often the public discussion about health care is filled with the opinions of experts and politicians instead of the people providing the essential care.
That’s why the SOS Medicare 3.0 Conference will bring frontline health care workers to Ottawa to share their stories about what they are seeing inside the system, and their solutions to the problems.
Workers in the health care system are reporting terrible burnout and frustration. In March 2024, a survey of over 5,000 members of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) found that 9 in 10 nurses registered some amount of burnout, and 4 in 10 took half or less of their allotted vacation last year, including 16 per cent who did not take vacation.
The story is similar in other health care professions. A survey by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) in 2023 found members reporting exhaustion (62 per cent) and high stress (62 per cent), followed by anxiety (49 per cent), trouble sleeping (44 per cent), dread going to work (41 per cent), and sadness (37 per cent).
A special panel of front line workers will be included on the second day of the SOS Medicare 3.0 to be held in Ottawa on February 24-25, 2025. Other featured labour speakers include Jason MacLean of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) and Chair of the Canadian Health Coalition, Linda Silas of CFNU, Siobhan Vipond of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), and Sharon DeSousa of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).
The SOS Medicare 3.0 Conference and Political Action Training aims to ensure that defending and expanding Medicare is on the 2025 election agenda. The conference builds on past SOS Medicare Conferences held in 1979 and 2007. It is co-sponsored by the Canadian Health Coalition, Canadian Labour Congress, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU), the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).
SOS Medicare 3.0 Conference + Political Action Training
February 24-25, 2025
The Westin Ottawa
11 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
Free admission & simultaneous interpretation will be provided. Reserve your spot.
