KINGSTON – Facing $6 million in budget cuts, Providence Care is telling staff today of one of the biggest job losses in the history of the former Kingston Psychiatric hospital.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union has been told the mental health facility will be shedding as many as 80-90 jobs to meet their target reduction of 60 full-time equivalent positions by next spring. This represents almost one in five jobs at the hospital.
The job reductions are part of restructuring of local health care, although the union says the planning it is based on is 20 years out-of-date.
“Providence is already under considerable stress,” says OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “The situation is volatile as too few staff are trying to manage patients with increasing care needs. This raises questions of both safety and quality of care.”
OPSEU Diablogue 