HSN cuts don't add up, says CUPE local president

Health Sciences North's announcement Wednesday that it would have to cut $5.2 million from its budget and reduce just over 35 full-time equivalent non-management positions in the next fiscal year surprised at least one union leader.

“That's not the data we got,” said Dave Shelefontiuk, the president of CUPE Local 1623, who represents clerical and service staff at the hospital.

The hospital said in its budget preview it will cut nearly 26 full-time equivalent positions with the Ontario Nurses' Association; just over three full-time positions with CUPE; 4.5 full-time equivalents with the Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU); and two non-union and non-management positions.

Most of the staff reductions, the hospital said, will be achieved through attrition, not filling vacancies and reducing scheduled hours.
But at a public forum Tuesday evening, before the hospital released its budget preview, Shelefontiuk said he expected CUPE to lose more than 35,000 hours, or nearly 18 full-time equivalent positions.

He said the hospital's numbers don't add up, because they've already cut three full-time positions, and three part-time positions in the north tower, and had notified the union there were more cuts to come.

Shelefontiuk said he and representatives from the Ontario Nurses' Association and OPSEU plan to meet with hospital administrators in early April to get more information about the projected cuts.

“In my mind, the quality of care is going to go down, the wait times are going to go up, the patients are going to be ringing their bells with no one coming to see them, because there aren't enough bodies to take care of them,” he said. “The work is still there, but you're just not replacing staff. There's no way you can provide the same level of service.”

The Ontario Health Coalition and several unions representing hospital workers are planning a meeting Wednesday, April 1, at 866 Newgate Ave, to plan a response to the proposed cuts at Health Sciences North.

“We will probably be in front of (Glenn) Thibeault's office eventually,” Shelefontiuk said.

Dr. Peter Zalan, president of the medical staff at Health Sciences North, said the hospital had no choice but to make cuts, due to a budget freeze.

“I don't blame the hospital, because it's the Ontario government that's making them do it,” he said.

Zalan said that while the hospital did its best to minimize layoffs in the next fiscal year, through attrition and unfilled vacancies, finding efficiencies will be more difficult in future years.

The hospital's budget is projected to remain frozen next fiscal year, which means the hospital will face new cuts at that point, Zalan said.

“The longer this type of budgeting goes on by the government, the harder it's going to be to find more efficiencies to minimize service cuts,” he said.

Zalan said Ontario's health-care system will need major reforms to remain sustainable.

Avoiding “heroic interventions” for people who are critically ill – and use up the vast majority of health-care dollars – could save the system $50 billion, he said.

“There's lots of money, it's just being very poorly spent,” Zalan added.

The health-care system should focus more on palliative care for those patients, to make their final months as comfortable as possible, Zalan said.

Zalan said he was disappointed with Tuesday's public forum on hospital cutbacks because the speakers did not offer any solutions, except to “go to war” with the province and demand more funding.

He said he plans to meet with community leaders soon to look at alternative ways to save money and provide quality patient care.