Union leaders for nurses at Windsor Regional Hospital believe more
layoffs within their ranks will be announced shortly, after an internal
email warned of job reductions.
“The employer emailed some staff members in the unit,” said Sue Sommerdyk, the Ontario Nurses’ Association local president who represents 1,550 registered nurses at Windsor Regional’s two locations. “It sounds like to me like they will announce further layoffs.
“This is not part of the layoff notices we (previously) received.”
The email makes references to changes with the hospital emergency rooms that would lead to job reductions. Nurses at the hospital feel they are already overstretched and care for patients will suffer — including longer waits in the ER — if the changes suggested in the email become reality.
“The work doesn’t change,” Sommerdyk said. “This is speculation because we have no official (layoff) notice. If this is realized, any reductions in the emergency room will impact patients.
The hospital in January announced it would cut a total of 166 full-time equivalent jobs this year from its 3,800-person workforce to cope with a $20-million budget shortfall. That included roughly an 11 per cent reduction in the number of registered nurses.
The hospital did indicate plans to hire the equivalent of 80 registered practical nurses to replace 80 RN positions.
But the impact amounts to 169 fewer full-and part-time RNs, according to the union.
Hospital CEO David Musyj said every service within the operating budget at Windsor Regional is under constant review and the internal email circulated this week by the nurses union is just one piece of the overall discussion.
Staff planning by hospital administrators has to remain ongoing given the Ontario government’s dire financial situation and health care making up more than 42 per cent of the provincial budget, he said.
“The government either has to increase revenues through fees or taxes or reduce expenses,” Musyj said. “When health care makes up a substantial portion of the budget, you have got to find the money somewhere.
“There is nothing planned for us right now since we are still working through the state of funding for this year. But we have to look forward and do appropriate planning.”
Nurses are not being singled out any more than anything else within the hospital’s operations, he said.
“(The nurses’ union has) concerns across the whole province and I don’t discount those concerns,” he said. “But on this issue, it’s being a bit overblown. There are tough discussions, but nothing has been planned.”
But suggestions of further cutbacks leaves employees in a “state of flux,” said Vicki McKenna, first vice-president for the Ontario Nurses Association.
“Morale is low and nurses at the hospital are struggling with the changes happening,” she said. “They are worried about their patients and the level of care — especially now with further cuts coming down the road.
“This email is all about money and not what’s right for patients and people. That’s totally unacceptable.”
dbattagello@postmedia.com
Published on: June 8, 2016
http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/nurses-union-fears-more-layoffs-loom-at-windsor-regional
“The employer emailed some staff members in the unit,” said Sue Sommerdyk, the Ontario Nurses’ Association local president who represents 1,550 registered nurses at Windsor Regional’s two locations. “It sounds like to me like they will announce further layoffs.
“This is not part of the layoff notices we (previously) received.”
The email makes references to changes with the hospital emergency rooms that would lead to job reductions. Nurses at the hospital feel they are already overstretched and care for patients will suffer — including longer waits in the ER — if the changes suggested in the email become reality.
“The work doesn’t change,” Sommerdyk said. “This is speculation because we have no official (layoff) notice. If this is realized, any reductions in the emergency room will impact patients.
The hospital in January announced it would cut a total of 166 full-time equivalent jobs this year from its 3,800-person workforce to cope with a $20-million budget shortfall. That included roughly an 11 per cent reduction in the number of registered nurses.
The hospital did indicate plans to hire the equivalent of 80 registered practical nurses to replace 80 RN positions.
But the impact amounts to 169 fewer full-and part-time RNs, according to the union.
Hospital CEO David Musyj said every service within the operating budget at Windsor Regional is under constant review and the internal email circulated this week by the nurses union is just one piece of the overall discussion.
Staff planning by hospital administrators has to remain ongoing given the Ontario government’s dire financial situation and health care making up more than 42 per cent of the provincial budget, he said.
“The government either has to increase revenues through fees or taxes or reduce expenses,” Musyj said. “When health care makes up a substantial portion of the budget, you have got to find the money somewhere.
“There is nothing planned for us right now since we are still working through the state of funding for this year. But we have to look forward and do appropriate planning.”
Nurses are not being singled out any more than anything else within the hospital’s operations, he said.
“(The nurses’ union has) concerns across the whole province and I don’t discount those concerns,” he said. “But on this issue, it’s being a bit overblown. There are tough discussions, but nothing has been planned.”
But suggestions of further cutbacks leaves employees in a “state of flux,” said Vicki McKenna, first vice-president for the Ontario Nurses Association.
“Morale is low and nurses at the hospital are struggling with the changes happening,” she said. “They are worried about their patients and the level of care — especially now with further cuts coming down the road.
“This email is all about money and not what’s right for patients and people. That’s totally unacceptable.”
dbattagello@postmedia.com
Published on: June 8, 2016
http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/nurses-union-fears-more-layoffs-loom-at-windsor-regional
