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St. Joseph’s Health Care London will cut 85 specialized front-line registered nursing (RN) positions at Parkwood Institute, amount to a loss of about two-thirds of the RNs at the hospital.
It’s a move one employee described as “inhumane” given the scope of London’s growing needs in mental health care.
The layoffs will include registered nurses who take part in the COAST team, which partners nurses with police officers during street patrols to help people experiencing or who are at risk of a mental health or addiction crisis. The hospital said St. Joe’s will pull out of the COAST program effective Jan. 15.
In a note sent to staff Thursday and acquired by CBC News, the hospital said they will remove 83 full-time and 31 part-time roles made up of “registered nurse and clerical positions.” The hospital said the cuts will eliminate 60 full-time and 25 part-time registered nurse positions.
In place of the RNs, the hospital says they will hire 82 new full-time and 24 part-time “direct care roles” which will include:
Registered practical nurses.Personal support workers. Occupational therapy/physiotherapy assistants. Social service workers and therapeutic recreation assistants.
In its statement, the hospital said the cuts are part of an austerity plan as the hospital faces a $4.7 million budget deficit.
“Any change that affects people’s jobs is very difficult, and this decision was not made lightly,” the statement said.
‘Realigning how health care is delivered’
The note adds, “This change is not about reducing care.”
“We’re realigning how care is delivered and ensuring patients receive care that matches their mental health, recovery and whole person needs, while making the best use of our resources and the diverse skills and expertise within our teams.”
Registered nurses (RNs) and registered practical nurses (RPNs) have different levels of education and are qualified to provide different levels of care.
RNs have a four-year university degree and can care for patients whose conditions are complex and unpredictable. Most RPNs have a two-year practical nursing college diploma and care for patients with more straightforward health conditions.
Will have ‘huge impact’ on care
An RN at Parkwood who spoke to CBC News on condition of anonymity said it will immediately and detrimentally affect patient care.
“This is going to have a huge impact,” he said. “RNs are trained to deal with patients who have unpredictable outcomes, RPNs are not.”
The source said the decision will eliminate about two-thirds of the RN positions at Parkwood, which provides in-patient and out-patient care and receives referrals from other hospitals.
The nurse said the loss of St. Joseph’s in the COAST program will be deeply felt, as it provides support for people in mental health crisis outside.
“In the middle of a homelessness crisis, we have now lost these frontline tools for police,” he said.
Other partners in the program include the Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services (CMHA) and Middlesex-London Paramedic Service (MLPS) along with London Health Sciences Centre.
Union says RNs provide highest level of care
Ontario Association of Nurses president Erin Ariss said eliminating RN positions can’t be justified at a time when London’s mental health care needs are greater than ever.
“These RNs are out in the community, they are in the hospitals looking after the most vulnerable, most complex patients in the community,” she said. “RNs have the highest level of education and provide the safest care to the public. When you assign the work to other workers, you will not receive the same level of care as an RN.”
Ariss placed most of the blame on the provincial government. She said she spoke with Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones about the cuts Friday morning.
“This is the only province in Canada where you will see the elimination of RN positions,” she said. “Why is Ontario different? If health care was a priority, we wouldn’t be eliminating RN positions.”
3 MPPs blame province
Three London-area NDP MPPs, Teresa Armstrong (London–Fanshawe), Terence Kernaghan (London North Centre), and Peggy Sattler (London West), released a joint statement Friday blasting the decision.
They blamed the provincial government for what they say is the underfunding of hospitals.
“We cannot celebrate health-care workers when we need them most, only to leave them behind when the crisis fades from the headlines,” said Kernaghan.