Town hall decries cuts to ‘swamped’ North Bay hospital

The union representing nearly workers at the North Bay Regional Health Centre hosted a town hall forum Tuesday evening about planned job cuts.

The union representing nearly 1,000 workers at the North Bay Regional Health Centre hosted a town hall at the Davedi Club on Tuesday evening, focused on looming job cuts coming to the hospital.

The hospital announced that budget pressures forced it to eliminate 40 positions, almost a third of them nursing jobs. Management is looking to save up to $5.6 million.

Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, said the cuts make no sense when the hospital is already “swamped.”

“It’s got wait times that are above the provincial average in the ERs,” Hurley said.

Members of the public shared personal experiences of waiting hours and hours to see a primary care physician at the hospital.

Patients in hallways

“I know so many people (who) avoid going to the emerg now because it’s almost impossible to get services,” said North Bay resident Mary Ortepi.

“You see people on stretchers in the hallways. There are no beds.”

Job cuts include 13 nurse positions, a handful of registered practical nurses, personal support workers, clerical staff, a pharmacy technician and a patient food service worker.

“If they (the government) found $650 million to build a parking garage for a for-profit spa, they can find $5.6 million,” said Mike Turgeon, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 139.

While both the province and the hospital maintain the layoffs will not affect patient care, union leaders said they were skeptical.

Hurley said he has seen chronic understaffing and a high burnout rate not just at the North Bay hospital, but at hospitals across Ontario.

CUPE’s own data estimates the hospital must add 120 workers to keep up with growing patient volumes.

Last Thursday, NDP Health Critic France Gélinas and Labour Critic Jamie West challenged Health Minister Sylvia Jones on the cuts, blaming inadequate provincial funding and accusing the province of ignoring the call for help.

“Those people work in important hospital services,” Gélinas said.

Has a 12-hour wait time

“The emergency department … has a 12-hour wait time right now.”

West said that he and Gélinas visited North Bay two weeks ago and met with laid-off health care workers, something the Conservative government has not done.

“If 40 health-care workers from Sudbury were losing their jobs, I’d fight for them every single day,” he said.

“When will the premier finally start fighting for the 40 health-care workers in North Bay?”

The province is sticking to its message that since 2020, annual funding for the hospital has grown by 20 per cent, or more than $49 million.

“Not only is it appropriate, but it is necessary for us to work with our hospital partners to make sure that they have a path to balance,” Jones said.

The government has asked Ontario’s hospitals to submit a three-year plan on how they will fix their finances.

“We are now seeing hospitals submitting plans that show they can make improvements in access to care,” Jones said.

Her comment didn’t go over well Tuesday night, with some members of the public slamming their fists on the table while others shouted “shame.”

“How can it be appropriate to cut staff and to lengthen the wait times in this hospital like this? It’s a vital public service,” Hurley said.

In an email to CTV News, a Ministry of Health spokesperson said that in 2025, the government is spending $91 billion on health care, including an additional $1 billion for hospitals.

“We will continue working with NBRHC to ensure it has the resources needed to provide high-quality care to patients,” the statement said.

Union leaders said they fear funding shortfalls will lead to further investment in private health care.

“You have people that are working way, way past the hours that they should be working. It’s not safe for the staff. It’s not safe for the people that go for services,” Ortepi said.

The North Bay hospital serves as a catchment area for more than 180,000 people in northeastern Ontario, including the Nipissing District and the surrounding region.