(April 1, 2016)<\/p>\n
Author: Kirk Dickinson, BlackburnNews.com<\/p>\n
The Ontario Health Coalition is appealing to the public to help protest staffing cuts at provincial hospitals, including Windsor Regional.<\/p>\n
The health coalition held a town hall meting in Windsor on Thursday, and plans to hold a \u201creferendum\u201d using voting stations in May, to give everyone in Ontario the chance to speak out.<\/p>\n
Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, says the group hopes to gain enough votes with the province-wide referendum to help prevent ongoing, \u201cdevastating cuts\u201d to jobs and health care.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t stand up and stop it, we\u2019re in for at least another few years of cuts,\u201d she says. \u201cFor some communities, their hospitals will not survive, and for others, their care is only going to worsen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Faced with a $20-million shortfall, Windsor Regional Hospital announced it January that it is cutting more than 160 full-time positions across its two campuses. The cuts include 120 nursing positions and 40 other full-time positions in other departments. Eighty registered practical nurses, with a starting wage of $27.50\/hr will replace 80 registered nurses who make between $31.02\/hr and $44.85\/hr.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe funding is not adequate, but we need to make sure that what there is goes to frontline services, and actually improving care,\u201d she says. \u201cThe evidence is very clear that Ontario has dropped funding to a level that has resulted in very significant cuts to services.\u201d<\/p>\n