Providence Healthcare: hospital bed cut protests come to Toronto

CUPE Local 1590 and the Scarborough Health Coalition sponsored a great public meeting Thursday on bed and service cuts at Providence Healthcare hospital.

Local 1590 president Kevin Tyrell spoke to the crowd about the plan to shut down Providence hospital beds over the next four years, taking beds out through a program called "Transformation by Design". The idea here is that in turn each hospital ward is closed down and renovated. But when each ward is reopened, it has fewer beds!

The hospital has already cut $2 million and is still $2.1 million in deficit. Kevin and others at the public meeting spoke of the great job the hospital has done in the past and fears that good quality care will become a thing of the past as beds are chopped.

As usual, this is being done with little or no public consultation by the government or the LHIN.

Also as usual, the claim is that better home care will replace hospital rehabilitation services. But with home care cutbacks coming, it seems more likely all we will be left with is "get them in and get them out" attitude (regardless of whether the patients are recovered).

The Local fears that 112 beds could be eliminated over four years.

Look soon for a video of Kevin's presentation to the town hall meeting on the Providence Healthcare page of the OCHU web site.

The Scarborough Health Coalition, with the support of Local 1590, OCHU and the Ontario Health Coalition, is planning a rally in early October to call on local Liberal MPP Lorenzo Baradietti to come out and help fight for the hospital. Details will be announced on the OCHU web site.

dallan@cupe.ca

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