Crisis underscores that health workers are backbone of health system

Responding to this crisis will require shifting tasks and leveraging the full scope of skills available within the health workforce. These innovations are often employed in low resource settings, out of necessity, but even high-income countries are quickly shifting tasks and redeploying available human resources.

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam and her deputy, Howard Njoo, address reporters during a daily news briefing. With better data infrastructure and co-ordinated health workforce planning, we could proactively address inadequacies in the system and develop the flexibility necessary for the workforce to respond effectively to pandemic situations, say investigators with the Canadian Health Workforce Network and the University of Ottawa.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY Ivy Bourgeault, Sarah Simkin, Caroline Chamberland-Rowe

April 7, 2020

Across the world, members of the public are clapping from their doorways and balconies to show their appreciation of health workers. It is becoming clearer than ever that our health system is largely our health workers. Vent...

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