North East Personal Support Occupations

The Personal Support Occupations (PSO) Task Force was established as a sub-committee of the North East LHIN’s Health Human Resource (HHR) Planning Steering Committee in response to the significant shortages of PSOs identified in North Eastern Ontario.  The shortage of PSO workers is not a stand alone issue, but affects a wide range of health services and North East LHIN initiatives, including the Alternate Level of Care (ALC) and Aging At Home initiatives.

Report on Personal Support Occupations in the North East

In September of 2009 a report was initiated by the PSO Task Force with the aim of identifying working conditions and employee retention concerns within the PSO workforce in the North East. This report generated approximately 21 recommendations, which can be categorized into three (3) main priority areas:

• Promotion & Recruitment
• Training & Education
• Working Conditions (Retention) & Policy

Action Plan Working Group

The PSO Task Force progressed to a Working Group with the purpose of developing an Action Plan in accordance with the recommendations outlined in the report.  This Action Plan contains strategies and tactics to be used for future implementation.

The Working Group’s first meeting was held at the end of July 2010, where three (3) sub-committees were established who will draw on the expertise within each represented organization and stakeholder group to develop the associated strategies to improve and enhance the current state of the priority areas.

Report and Action Plan

2010 Report on Personal Support Occupations in the North East

2011 Action Plan - Enhancing the Personal Support Occupations Workforce