Frustrated, tired, and disheartened, health care workers held a protest outside Lakeridge hospital in Oshawa today to address the troubling working conditions stemming from provincial funding cuts.
Pam Parks, a registered practical nurse and president of CUPE 6364, which represents around 3,500 staff across three Lakeridge Health locations, noted that the hospital has cut over 40 jobs in the last year while patient numbers continue to rise along with increased workloads.
“Staff are fed up with the chaotic conditions at Lakeridge. We have stretchers full of patients in the hallway because our hospital is running over capacity. Staff are overwhelmed since there’s more work but fewer people. But due to this capacity issue, there’s pressure to discharge patients quickly – even when they truly need more hands-on care and time to recover. And yet, management wants to make further cuts,” she said.
The hospital has been slashing jobs and redistributing tasks as part of an effort to save money due to inadequate government funding, Parks explained.
In March, management informed the union that nurses would need to take on additional duties like serving food to patients because it was eliminating three full-time dietary aide positions.
Parks mentioned that registered practical nurses were shocked since they’re already stretched thin caring for not just their regular patients but also those on stretchers in the hallway.
“We need proper nurse-to-patient ratios which are essential for saving lives, improving overall well-being, and preventing staff burnout,” she said. “But the hospital keeps going backward by piling on more work on us because there isn’t enough money for safe staffing at Lakeridge.”
Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE), stated that government funding cuts have resulted in hundreds of layoffs across the hospital sector in recent months while an aging and growing population demands more staff and resources.
“The provincial statistics tell the story very clearly – only 20 percent of ER patients at Lakeridge are admitted within the eight-hour target time. The average patient waits an excruciating 22.9 hours. That is unacceptable – at least the provincial government has a responsibility to meet its own standards. The people of Oshawa deserve better,” he said.
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