TORONTO — The Ontario Nurses Association is sounding the alarm about layoffs off Registered Nurses by cash-strapped hospitals, and warns patients will pay the price.
The union, which represents 60,000 registered nurses, says there were 770 RN positions cut across Ontario last year, and hospitals in Windsor and Kitchener have already announced more RN layoffs this month.
Windsor Regional Hospital cut about 120 RN positions this week, but says it plans to hire 80 registered practical nurses, who do not need a university degree, while the Grand River Hospital in Kitchener cut 38 RN jobs.
ONA president Linda Haslam-Stroud says the hospitals decided to "risk the health outcomes of patients by cutting RNs to balance the budget."
The Progressive Conservatives insist Ontario hospitals are in crisis because their budgets have been frozen for four years, and say frontline health care workers are ending up as targets and patients are getting decreased levels of care.
The New Democrats say the Liberals' decision to freeze hospital budgets means the system isn't really working for patients who need it most, and point out that people now wait up to 200 days for home care services after they leave hospital.
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