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Unifor is condemning another round of cuts at Quinte Health that will impact dozens of frontline health care workers, warning that the ongoing reduction of staffing is undermining both patient care and job security in the region.
Quinte Health recently notified Unifor Local 8300 that funding for services provided through the Behavioural Supports Transition Unit (BSTU) at Belleville General Hospital will be discontinued, with services being transferred to Providence Care in Kingston.
As a result, 33 frontline positions will be affected, including Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) and Personal Support Workers (PSWs).
Unifor reports that Quinte Health has cut PSWs before and then brought them back, underscoring the importance and value of their work and the crucial care that they provide.
The union also reports that workers have already endured months of uncertainty, and now another group of frontline staff are being told their jobs are disappearing or changing which will have a ripple effect throughout the hospital, including remaining workers expected to do more with less.
The latest announcement follows earlier staffing reductions at Quinte Health that affected dozens of health care workers across the organization.
While hospital management points to funding decisions from the provincial government, Unifor says the ongoing loss of frontline positions raises serious questions about the future of care delivery in the region.
Communities deserve investments that strengthen care close to home, not decisions that force workers and patients to bear the burden of ongoing re-structuring.
Unifor hols that patients and workers deserve stability and respect, but are instead, they are facing another round of disruption while continuing to provide care under increasingly difficult circumstances.
Unifor Local 8300 held an information picket at Belleville General Hospital on June 3 to raise awareness about the impacts of continued staffing cuts and to call for stronger investments in public health care.
Unifor launches new Care Can’t Wait campaign
The union recently launched the Care Can’t Wait campaign to push for safe staffing, stronger public services, an end to privatization, and meaningful investments in frontline workers as part of its fight for a health care system that prioritizes patients, workers, and quality care over corporate profit.
