Unifor rallies in Thunder Bay over health care, contract issues

Up North5:53Rally raises concerns about health care and palliative cuts

Members of Unifor took to the streets for a rally in front of St. Joseph's Hospital in Thunder Bay.

The union that represents more than 2,500workers at several northwestern Ontario hospitals held a rally Mondayin Thunder Bay.

Unifor's demonstration outside St. Joseph's Hospital over the lunch hour was to draw attention to multiple issues, includingthe state of current contract negotiations, government funding for health care, and proposed cuts the union says are coming to palliative care at St. Joe's.

Unifor local 229 president Kari Jefford said there's not enough support for health care by the province or Ottawa.

"Folks really need to know what's happening to our everyday services in our communities."

In addition to St. Joe's, Unifor represents workers in hospitals in Marathon, Nipigon, Atikokan, Manitouwadge and Geraldton.

Jefford saidits members include nursing staff,technicians, dietary staff and housekeeping, among others. Their collective agreement with the Ontario Hospital Association, a body that represents many hospitals in the province, expires next month.

"What we'd like to see, actually, [is for the OHA to] come to the table and negotiate a wage increase or a compensation package or even to maintain what we have; there's huge concessions on the table."

Jefford said the "bad spot," hospitals are in, withfunding, trickles down to the front-line staff and the care they are able toprovide.

"How do you do more with less every single day? And that just filters rightback down to the workers in the system," she said.

"We're working short. We're working dangerously. They're overworked."

Concerns over palliative care beds

Unifor also claimsSt. Joseph's Care Group has a proposal before the Northwest Local Health Integration Network to reduce the number of palliative care beds at its Thunder Bay hospital.

"They have flirted with reducing some of the beds in the palliative care unit," said AngieMartz, a nurse who works in the palliative care unit.

"Which is ... it's sad, I mean we're a great service."

Martz said there's a need for those beds.

"Absolutely there`s a demand," she said. "I mean we are a hospital and so we have palliative care patients throughout the hospital, however, [the] palliative care unit, as well as the hospice unit are a .... they're a special nursing."

St. Joseph's Care Group president and CEO Tracy Buckler told CBC Newsthere is no formal proposal, but changes in the palliative unit are under discussion, in part, she says, because more people are choosing to die at home.

"There's been no official proposal submitted," she said. "But we're certainly having those conversations around what's, again, the most appropriate care for the people that we're here to serve."

Buckler said St. Joe's has32 hospice and palliative care beds, but not all are used for that purpose.

"At any given time, over a third to a half of those beds are filled with people that are waiting for long-term care, so in fact they're not actual hospice or palliative care clients," she said.

"We always want to make sure that we're putting our resources where the greatest need and the greatest demand is."

Buckler said ideally,St Joe's would like to reduce existing four-bed rooms in the unit to two beds each.