Toronto Public Health faces staffing crisis, plummeting public trust and dwindling resources, report finds
Toronto Public Health (TPH) is facing a loss of staff, resources and public trust following COVID, a recent report to the city's board of health finds.
The annual report is a summary of challenges the agency is facing — from a staff exodus to a torrent of public health misinformation in the wake of the pandemic — as well as potential solutions to those problems.
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'TPH continues to meet its mandate and provide high-quality and evidence informed public health interventions to the people of Toronto,' Dr. Na-Koshie Lamptey, the city's acting medical officer of health, said in an email to the Star. 'Risks can be fluid in nature, as such risk management is an ongoing process for the organization.'
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A shallow talent pool
TPH is experiencing a staff exodus, following employee burnout and fatigue in the aftermath of the pandemic, according to the report. Adding to this are increased demands to address disease outbreaks, the drug toxicity epidemic and emerging issues like extreme heat and declining air quality brought on by climate change.
The staffing crisis comes at a time when the agency is experiencing an uptick in retirements and the departures of staff for other opportunities, the report said.
It's the third year in a row that limited staff was flagged as a risk factor. The report deemed the issue a 'high risk,' assessing it as being both 'likely to occur' and having a 'substantial impact on time, cost or quality' of the agency's services.
'Toronto Public Health has taken action to address this risk,' the report said, noting the agency was dedicating resources to growing its employee wellness program.
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Dwindling resources
The public health agency has exhausted much of its resources battling the COVID-19 pandemic, outbreaks of mpox and meningococcal disease, a worsening drug epidemic and other recent health emergencies, the report found.
As a result, it's been left vulnerable to other emerging public health issues. TPH is currently working on its ability to identify and respond to public health issues in a thorough and timely way, the report noted.
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This challenge was deemed a 'medium risk,' having been found 'as likely to occur as not to occur' but having a 'substantial impact on time, cost or quality' of its services.
To rectify the issue, the report recommended prioritizing public health incidents based on their population risk and enhancing relations with provincial, national and international jurisdictions for disease surveillance, among other strategies.
Loss of trust in public health advice
The report acknowledged that trust in public health institutions and their advice has plummeted following a barrage of disinformation, misinformation and general exhaustion in the wake of the pandemic.
Dwindling public trust was also deemed a risk in 2024. It was thought of as a 'medium risk,' assessed as being 'likely to occur' and having a 'notable impact on time, cost or quality' of services.
'This increases the need for meaningful population engagement to maintain public trust,' the report noted.
It recommended reinforcing TPH's position as a trusted and reliable source of information, partly through improved public messaging on the city's website.
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Toronto Public Health says it saw 'many deviations' at gynecologist's clinic with potential HIV, hepatitis exposure
Toronto Public Health says it observed 'many deviations' that led to it notifying 2,500 patients of a potential exposure to blood-borne viruses.
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