Local union says Hamilton hospital job cuts already affecting patient care

Hospital union CUPE Local 7800 warns that staff cuts mean longer waits, fewer services and risks to patient safety.

In Hamilton, CUPE says the impact is already being felt, linking closures to job cuts at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS).

“We’re seeing clinics close,” said Jillian Watt, President of CUPE Local 7800.

Watt said one clinic provides gynecology and urology care as well as abortions.

“We’ve been told they’re dispersing the work, but we haven’t had a solid answer as to if HHS will still be offering that procedure.” Watt said.

Hamilton Health Sciences tells CHCH News “There has been no impact to pregnancy loss and termination care at H-H-S.”

Watt also said the SSMU, which is a Short Stay Medical Unit is closing.

When asked about the closure, HHS provided this written response: “The care currently provided through the SSMU will continue at HHS through a new model of care in a better location, involving the same level of medical expertise.

This is part of our ongoing effort to improve important services the public relies on and offer a better patient experience.”

The union said HHS has cut 114 jobs since Friday.

“We have three full days scheduled to discuss the remaining cuts,” said Watt.

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Meetings between the union and the hospitals are scheduled to happen Thursday, Friday and next Wednesday, with up to 110 more cuts expected.

At a press conference Wednesday morning, the Ontario Nurses Association said 3.1 million hours of patient care will be lost because of these layoffs.

Watt says this impact is being felt directly in Hamilton.

“When you’re averaging a hospital wait time of 21 to 24 hours, when you’re spending days on a stretcher in a hospital hallway because they don’t have beds for you on the unit, and when you’re spending additional time on a bed in a hallway, this is what this means,” said Watts.

Outside Hamilton General Hospital, patients described waiting hours for care.

CHCH News reached out to HHS and St. Joseph’s Healthcare regarding both the job cuts and wait times.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said in a statement in part, “CUPE’s claims are entirely misguided.”

“To be clear, the changes Hamilton Health Sciences is making will not impact patient access to care or services,” the spokesperson went on to say in the statement.

St. Joseph’s Healthcare said in a statement, it “introduced a new staffing model that will help ensure we are connecting patients to the right care at the right time. As part of this staffing model change, we eliminated 57 RN positions and created 80 new care positions.”

The statement continued by saying St. Joseph’s Healthcare will increase staff in other areas.

A town hall will be held on Nov. 10, at the Steelworkers Hall on Barton Street to discuss the cuts and push for hospital funding.

This story was updated to include new information Hamilton Health Sciences provided regarding services and closures.

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