A claim made by the union representing registered nurses, that
Windsor Regional Hospital is in chaos, is “not accurate at all,” the
hospital’s CEO said Monday.
“It’s really unfortunate to use words like that,” David Musyj said of the media release from the Ontario Nurses Association that cites excessive overtime, retired nurses being called back to work, schedules posted late with gaps in those schedules that means base staffing needs are not being met.
ONA president Linda Haslam-Stroud said the situation at the hospital is serious, with the June 15 date for cutting 169 RN jobs looming. “For our patients, this is completely unacceptable.”
Musyj said it’s inappropriate for ONA to use a word like “chaos.”
“Is
it difficult? Yes. Is it troubling for everyone? Yes. But to use a word
like that, that’s something you’d expect to see on the U.S. campaign
trail,” he said.
Sue Summerdyke, the president of the Windsor-area ONA bargaining unit, wouldn’t use the word “chaos” to describe the situation at the hospital, but she said many nurses are feeling anxious, have low morale and feel stuck in limbo as fellow nurses retire or quit and the workplace scrambles to fill all the gaps.
She said there are instances where there should be five RNs working in a particular area, but only four are scheduled. And nurses are picking up that slack, trying to provide the same level of care. As a result, they’re skipping their lunch and breaks, working overtime and doing everything they can to ensure patients are cared for, she said.
“The nurses are at a point where they don’t know what to do. We want to provide the quality of care that we’re supposed to under our licensing, but a lot of nurses are filing complaints that they can’t do that.”
She said staffing problems are worsened by the number of nurses leaving as the job cuts loom. Some have retired and others have been recruited to work in Michigan hospitals.
But Musyj said while there’s a big transition happening, patients shouldn’t notice it.
“Staffing levels are consistent with every single hospital, if not better, in Ontario and Canada with similar programs,” he said.
bcross@postmedia.com
“It’s really unfortunate to use words like that,” David Musyj said of the media release from the Ontario Nurses Association that cites excessive overtime, retired nurses being called back to work, schedules posted late with gaps in those schedules that means base staffing needs are not being met.
ONA president Linda Haslam-Stroud said the situation at the hospital is serious, with the June 15 date for cutting 169 RN jobs looming. “For our patients, this is completely unacceptable.”
Musyj said it’s inappropriate for ONA to use a word like “chaos.”
Sue Summerdyke, the president of the Windsor-area ONA bargaining unit, wouldn’t use the word “chaos” to describe the situation at the hospital, but she said many nurses are feeling anxious, have low morale and feel stuck in limbo as fellow nurses retire or quit and the workplace scrambles to fill all the gaps.
She said there are instances where there should be five RNs working in a particular area, but only four are scheduled. And nurses are picking up that slack, trying to provide the same level of care. As a result, they’re skipping their lunch and breaks, working overtime and doing everything they can to ensure patients are cared for, she said.
“The nurses are at a point where they don’t know what to do. We want to provide the quality of care that we’re supposed to under our licensing, but a lot of nurses are filing complaints that they can’t do that.”
She said staffing problems are worsened by the number of nurses leaving as the job cuts loom. Some have retired and others have been recruited to work in Michigan hospitals.
But Musyj said while there’s a big transition happening, patients shouldn’t notice it.
“Staffing levels are consistent with every single hospital, if not better, in Ontario and Canada with similar programs,” he said.
bcross@postmedia.com
