Unions decry hospital job cuts
Posted Feb 1, 2013 03:14:35 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Unions at the region’s largest hospital are speaking out against a wave of pink slips.
The Ottawa Hospital’s management insists that the quality of patient care will not suffer as it sheds nearly 300 full-time jobs. But unions call that, “absurd.”
“The Ottawa Hospital is mandated to maintain a balanced budget, but they’re not going to receive any more resources from the government,” said Frances Smith of the Ontario Nurses Association. “This results in us having to have cuts. And it is going to impact patient care.”
Smith says patients will be at a higher risk of complications after the job cuts, and points to American studies which say nursing staff reductions result in more patient deaths.
Earlier this week, Dr. Jack Kitts, CEO of The Ottawa Hospital told 1310News that patients may notice a difference in how they recieve their care and who they get it from, but that the quality would remain the same.
About 90 full-time nursing jobs are being eliminated, with another 100 other health professionals being let go. Another 100 administration and support staff are included in the job cuts.
The hospital says most of the people affected by the staff reductions will be accommodated by being offered some of 600 positions that are currently vacant at the hospital. The unions, however, say those vacant positions don’t exist.
