FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pembroke, ON – Health care workers represented by CUPE will hold a rally outside Ontario PC MPP Billy Denault’s office on Tuesday morning to protest funding cuts by the provincial government.
The government’s fall economic statement shows a plan to cut hospital funding by 10 per cent in real terms over three years by 2027-28 as projected spending fails to cover the six per cent annual cost inflation for hospitals, says CUPE.
The consequences of fiscal restraint are already being felt by staff and patients in hospitals and long-term care homes across Ontario, as hundreds of jobs are being eliminated in North Bay, Hamilton, Ottawa, Niagara and the GTA due to budget deficits.
“This government promised to clear surgical waiting lists and to end hallway medicine. 200,000 people are waiting for surgeries, and 73,000 patients are waiting longer than clinically recommended. 2,000 are on hallway stretchers waiting for beds and the government has now announced it will no longer report those numbers,” said Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE), which represents 45,000 health care workers. “The PC funding plan through to 2027-28 will have devastating consequences for many people needing hospital treatment in Ontario.”
Based on projections by the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, about 9,000 staff and 2,400 hospital beds are on the chopping block across Ontario due to government funding restraint.
In the Ottawa Valley, about 70 nurses and PSWs could lose their jobs across the health care system by 2027-28 – if the government doesn’t deviate from its current budget plan.
The union is alarmed about these cuts at a time when patient care is already compromised due to insufficient staffing and bed capacity. Latest Ontario Health data shows that only 29 per cent of ER patients at the Pembroke Regional Hospital are admitted on time (within eight hours).
“Patients are not receiving the care they deserve in our hospitals,” said Sharon Richer, secretary-treasurer of OCHU-CUPE. “Health care workers are stretched to their limits trying to provide the best care possible, but they need more support in the form of safe staffing levels, manageable workloads, and a properly funded hospital system.”
The union is recommending the following actions by the provincial government:
- In the short term, add 6,200 staffed beds to get patients off hallway stretchers, allow for aging and population growth and clear the backlog of people waiting for surgeries.
- Increase core hospital funding by $3.2 billion to clear deficits and hire additional staff
- Fund hospitals at their real costs (six per cent per year) with a multi-year funding commitment.
Who: Health care workers at the Pembroke Regional Hospital, CUPE provincial leaders and
community allies
What: CUPE rally against health care cuts
When: 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 3
Where: MPP Billy Denault’s office, 84 Isabella St., Pembroke, ON
-30-
For more information contact:
Zee Noorsumar
CUPE Communications
647-995-9859
znoorsumar@cupe.ca
