Toronto's Runnymede Healthcare Centre Cuts Registered Nurse Care by Half

TORONTO, Oct. 20, 2015 /CNW/ - Patients at Runnymede Healthcare Centre in Toronto will face an increase risk of suffering complications and even higher death rates in the wake of the hospital's decision to cut its complement of registered nurses (RNs) by half.

Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN says, "Runnymede had just 32 full-time and 35 part-time/casual RNs to begin with. Now, under the guise of 'adopting a new nursing model to enhance the patient experience,' Runnymede is gutting the RN staff to just 14 full-time RNs and 20 part-time/casual RNs."

Haslam-Stroud says that research evidence shows that cutting the heart of patient care out of the hospital means the patients will be at increased risk of suffering complications and even a higher risk of death, and leave patients more vulnerable to medication errors.

Runnymede Healthcare Centre boasts of the superiority of its care on its website," notes Haslam-Stroud. "However, cutting RN care hours from 82,000 hours per year to just 41,000 hours per year is anything but superior. Research shows that for every extra patient added to an average RNs workload, patients suffer a seven per cent-increased risk of suffering complications including bed sores, ulcers, pneumonia, sepsis, cardiac arrest and even death."

Despite this and after weeks of meetings to dissuade the hospital from making these draconian cuts, hospital management has moved ahead with plans to gut RN care.

ONA is the union representing 60,000 front-line registered nurses and allied health professionals as well as more than 14,000 nursing student affiliates providing care in Ontario hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, industry and clinics.

Visit us at: www.ona.org; www.Facebook.com/OntarioNurses; www.Twitter.com/OntarioNurses

SOURCE Ontario Nurses' Association

For further information: Ontario Nurses' Association: Sheree Bond, [phone], ext. 2430; cell: [phone], [email protected]; Melanie Levenson, [phone], ext. 2369, [email protected]