A union researcher says Niagara hospitals are in debt
Another warning from an Ontario hospital union that says chronic government underfunding is costing jobs and health care services.
Speaking in Niagara Falls yesterday, CUPE's Senior Researcher Doug Allan says funding for Ontario hospitals is lower than anywhere else.
He adds the Niagara region is $18-million in the hole. "And moreover, the working capital, that's the money hospitals have on hand, without having to borrow from banks, to pay their day to day expenses like payroll and buying drugs, that is now, in many hospitals, a negative."
He says the Niagara region needs $135-million, and 1,400 more workers.
He also accuses the Ford government of not eliminating hallway medicine as promised, and that 1,300 jobs have been lost, as reported to his union. "Staffing, is also very short in Ontario, about 30% short compared to what it is in the rest of Canada, and if we had staffing as in other provinces, Niagara hospitals would have another 1,400 staff."
He believes government claims of how many nurses hired in Ontario tend to be exaggerated.
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