CUPE releases astonishing data of patient volumes outpacing growth in staffing
as provincial funding fails Hamilton residents
Hamilton, ON – The latest data about patient care at Hamilton Health Sciences paint a bleak picture: only eight per cent of ER patients at the Juravinski site in February were admitted within the provincial target time of eight hours with an average wait-time of 25.4 hours. The Hamilton General site had similar wait-times with only 21 per cent of patients admitted on time.
Jillian Watt, the president of CUPE 7800, which represents 4,570 HHS staff, blamed the provincial government’s funding policy as the hospital’s $25 million budget deficit prevents it from hiring the staff needed to improve wait-times and meet patient needs.
“Long ER wait-times are associated with higher risk of deaths and readmissions. Understaffing causes delays in assessment and care, causes higher risk of medical errors and oversight in diagnoses, and ultimately results in lower quality of care,” said Watt. “In other words, the provincial government is putting people’s lives at risk by underfunding our hospitals.”
According to the latest report, Hamilton Health Sciences has one of the highest levels of hallway healthcare in the province, with 118 patients cared for in hallways or other unconventional spaces. Doug Ford promised to fix the problem of hallway healthcare back in 2018, but the problem has only grown – and Hamilton is seeing the worst of it.
Patient volumes have increased rapidly at HHS. Over the last three years:
- Inpatient days are on track to increase 13 per cent
- Surgeries are on track to increase 36 per cent
- ER visits are on track to increase 16 percent
- Clinic visits are on track to increase 13 percent
Demand is going up rapidly and the provincial government must provide the funding and staffing to match that need, said CUPE spokespersons.
Recently, the Hamilton Spectator reported that nurses are working abnormal amounts of overtime at HHS and St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, with some averaging 60 hours a week through the course of the year.
“Hospital workers are already exhausted with so many on the verge of burnout. Adding to the frustration is an acute sense of betrayal as we see the provincial government fail us over and over again,” Watt noted.
Watt said the union’s 2024 survey of Hamilton’s hospital workers showed high levels of demoralization among staff due to heavy workloads: 70 per cent said they faced high stress levels and 62 per cent reported trouble sleeping. Eighty-five per cent also had little faith in the government’s ability to improve the state of hospitals.
Michael Hurley, president of OCHU-CUPE, said that the Ford government’s unpredictable funding policy prevents hospitals from proactively developing staffing plans for the year. He says only a few months ago HHS faced a $112 million deficit without knowing how much funding it could expect from the provincial government.
“There is absolute chaos in terms of funding. For example, in 2023/24 the government planned a 0.5 per cent funding increase when they released the budget and strung the hospitals along for the whole year before eventually bumping the funding up ten per cent at the very end of the fiscal year,” he said. “It’s a completely backward way of managing the health care sector. And ultimately, it’s the public and the staff who pay for the consequences of this chaotic policy.”
OCHU-CUPE is demanding a $2 billion increase (seven per cent) in the hospital budget in next week’s budget, which it estimates is the bare minimum required to alleviate the staffing and capacity shortfall in the sector.
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For more information, contact:
Zee Noorsumar
CUPE Communications
[email protected]
647-995-9859
:gv/cope491
