Empty gurneys were lined up outside Guelph General Hospital Tuesday as the union representing hospital workers made its point about hallway medicine.
The OCHU-CUPE demonstration brought out about 20 people just two days before the provincial election to hear about local healthcare concerns. Speakers urged people to get to the polls so they have a say in the future of the healthcare system. They also think this election has too much of a focus on tariffs and not enough on funding healthcare appropriately.
GGH is running at 89 per cent capacity which is over the recommended 85 per cent maximum bed occupancy, said Sharon Richer, secretary treasurer of Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), during her remarks. To bring it down to the recommended occupancy GGH would need 33 more beds, she said.
“It is time we all advocate to plan to ensure that hospitals are sufficiently staffed to reduce our wait times and to ensure every hospital is cared for in a proper setting,” said Richer.
The focus of the current government has been on what’s going on in the U.S. with tariffs, said Mark Zinger, vice-president of CUPE Local 57 and a registered practical nurse at GGH, in an interview. He wants to remind people their loved ones are not going to get the care they need because there aren’t enough staff. He said staff are leaving their jobs because the pay isn’t good enough and there isn’t job satisfaction.
At the local all-candidates forum on Friday, Green Party candidate and leader Mike Schreiner made getting a new hospital in Guelph his top local priority. But said if staff aren’t paid fairly the new hospital won’t have any staff to run it.
As a healthcare worker, Zinger sees where Schreiner is coming from. Zinger thinks the focus should be on the current hospital and keeping the money in the public system so staff stay at the hospital. If money is kept in local hospitals and people show they care about front line healthcare workers then there will be staff for new hospitals, he continued.
In December, the union was out in front of the hospital rallying in protest of 39 personal support workers (PSWs) set to be laid off in May. The PSWs’ employer is still pushing for the lay off and continues to not back down, said Zinger.
He has already seen an impact on care. “It's just a worse revolving door,” said Zinger. “More hallway beds are being made. I can’t believe the amount of patients that I’m looking after and the patients I’m having to look after in the hallways. Patients that are fully stroked out and I have to look after them in the hallways. That’s not appropriate.”
For people to get the care they need and to get rid of hallway medicine, people need family doctors and there needs to be an appropriate amount of beds in the hospital, said Richer.