CUPE warns HHS job cuts will increase wait times and reduce beds

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says recent job cuts at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) will impact patient services despite claims from the provincial government that it will not.

“Wait times will increase, the numbers of staff beds will decrease, which is what the FAO is predicting,” says Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions and vice president of CUPE Ontario.

“You’re going to see patient care degrade in quality because these nursing and other staff members were already run completely ragged trying to meet the demands of the patients in what is the most understaffed to patient hospital system in the country.”

HHS announced ten days ago that it was cutting 413 jobs, including 143 nurses as it deals with a $150 million deficit.

READ MORE: HHS to cut over 413 positions including 143 nurses