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Hospitals Replace PSWs with Nurses, Sparking Concerns
16 Apr
Summary
- Over 50 PSWs laid off in two Ontario hospitals.
- Nurses will replace laid-off personal support workers.
- Union vows to fight layoffs, citing patient care impact.
Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital and St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital have announced layoffs affecting over 50 personal support workers (PSWs) in their acute care departments. These positions are being replaced by nurses, with the hospitals citing a need to manage increasingly complex patients requiring specialized nursing care.
The hospitals stated that enhanced regulated nursing resources are proven to improve patient outcomes and safety. Unifor Local 302 reported 27 PSWs in Tillsonburg have received layoff notices, with their roles ending in September. Jennifer McMaster, a PSW at Tillsonburg, expressed distress over the sudden nature of the layoffs and questioned the reasoning given the pandemic's demand for PSWs.
PSWs provide essential hands-on support, including patient mobility, hygiene, and monitoring. The Ontario Personal Support Worker Association predicts these changes will dramatically increase hospital costs due to higher nurse salaries. This follows similar layoff trends in other Ontario hospitals, raising concerns among advocates about the essential role PSWs play in healthcare teams.
