Registered nurses (RNs) working at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) believe that the loss of 12 full-time and two part-time RN positions and bed closures will have a significant impact on safe, quality patient care — particularly in the area of women’s and children’s services — and will result in less access to emergency care.
“It is outrageous for the CKHA management to believe that the way to resolving budgetary issues is to cut services, close beds and lay off front-line RNs,” stated Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) First Vice-President Vicki McKenna, RN.
“Nurses know this will compromise safe, quality patient care. Health-care employers must stop trying to balance their budgets on the backs of our dedicated and highly skilled RNs.”
ONA officials say nursing positions marked for elimination include:
– Women and Children Services – Five full-time RNs in the Women and Children’s Department, Chatham campus, including a lactation consultant. As well, there will be a decrease in beds from 12 to eight.
– Emergency Room – Five full-time and two part-time RN positions cut.
– Medical Unit – Two full-time RN positions cut, with beds decreased from 54 to 49.
Cutting these positions will mean the loss of more than 25,000 hours of direct hands-on RN patient care,” ONA officials stated.
“Research shows that there is devastating impacts on our patients and our ability to provide safe, high-quality care when RN hours are cut,” McKenna said.
“Patients are more likely to experience complications, increased infections, higher morbidity and mortality rates and readmissions, longer wait times and poorer health outcomes. The research is clear: Ontario needs more RNs, not fewer. The government and hospitals need to stop closing beds and cutting RNs.”
Ontario continues to have the worst RN-to-population ratio in all of Canada,” ONA officials stated.
According to the latest statistics from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Ontario has just 703 RNs per 100,000 population compared to an average of 839 per 100,000 for the rest of the country.
This is a direct result of Ontario hospitals balancing their budgets at the expense of RN care, ONA officials stated.
“We ask the public to contact their MPPs and ask them if they are going to stand up for safe care, not cuts. Our patients deserve better,” said McKenna.
ONA is the union representing 64,000 RNs and health-care professionals, and more than 16,000 nursing student affiliates, in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.
CKHA’s recovery plan
The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) released details of its 2017/18 Recovery Plan to the public and key stakeholders last month, and staff cuts were included in the plan.
Calling it a “robust and methodical process”, CKHA officials said the organization’s Recovery Plan was developed to ensure the hospital can continue to deliver high quality care and support equipment renewal, facility repair and replacement and program enhancements, while achieving a performance that is equivalent to peer hospitals.
CKHA officials said in 2017/18 a reduction of 38 staff members is proposed equating to approximately 26 full-time and 15 part-time positions.
Read our coverage, here: CKHA continues push towards financial recovery
Read the full Chatham-Kent Health Alliance 2017/18 Recovery Plan, here.
