Hospital workers and community allies protest PSW cuts at Guelph General Hospital, call on Ford government to address funding shortfall

GUELPH, ON – –(COMMUNITYWIRE)– The decision to lay off 39 personal support workers at Guelph General Hospital is a grave mistake that will badly hurt workplace morale and harm the quality of patient care, said CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE).

Guelph General staff and community allies held a rally on Monday morning in response to the hospital eliminating 39 out of the 64 PSW positions. The decision to implement cuts was based on a recommendation by an external organization.

Michael Hurley, president of OCHU-CUPE, blamed the provincial government for underfunding as hospitals across Ontario face a cumulative $2 billion budget deficit. In response, he said, hospitals are reducing costs at the expense of patients even as staffing levels are falling in the face of growing demand. Guelph General is projecting a $12.5 million deficit for the fiscal year ending March 2025.

“These cuts will hurt patients in this community,” Hurley said. “Ontario studies have shown that the addition of personal support workers to the nursing team in acute hospitals significantly reduces rates of mortality, bedsores, falls, incontinence and improves patients’ morale. This decision is driven by funding cuts from a government that is systematically cutting hospital staff through underfunding. Patients and their families will, regrettably, pay the price.”

Hurley highlighted recent provincial data showing that only 33 per cent of ER patients at Guelph General are admitted within the target time of eight hours, with wait-times averaging more than 13 hours.

“Should a hospital with a 67 per cent failure rate in admitting patients on time, make cuts?” he added. “It’s time for the leadership of Guelph General Hospital to show courage and stand up for its patients and its staff and call for the deficit to be covered by the province. “

Mark Zinger, a registered practical nurse at Guelph General and vice president of CUPE 57, said it was demoralizing to witness his dedicated colleagues being issued layoff notices just before the holidays.

PSWs are an invaluable part of the care team. Their absence would burden nurses with additional responsibilities, disrupting teamwork and adversely affecting patient care, he said.

“Our patient volumes have risen sharply over the past few years, which really constrains the capacity of nurses,” he said. “We thereby rely heavily on PSWs who help patients with activities of daily living, including bathing, walking and eating. Their support is crucial to helping patients recover faster.”

“Not only is this a disservice to patients, this is bad fiscal management,” he said. “Lowering the quality of care causes higher readmission rates, further burdening a health care system already stretched to its limits. It means higher costs down the road, which could so easily be prevented by making smart upfront investments in appropriate staffing levels,” Zinger said.

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For more information, contact:

Zee Noorsumar, CUPE Communications
znoorsumar@cupe.ca
647-995-9859