Grace Hospital
Health care support workers are holding informational pickets at Grace Hospital and Middlechurch Home Tuesday to protest the provincial government’s cuts and changes to health care.
“We are very concerned that the government’s reckless changes will negatively impact patient care” said Debbie Boissonneault, president of the CUPE Provincial Health Care Council, and support worker at Grace Hospital, in a release. “Health care workers are already overworked and understaffed, our community hospitals and care homes need more support not less.”
The info pickets will happen from noon to 1 p.m. on Sturgeon Road at Grace Hospital and on Main Street at Middlechurch Home.
A news release from The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says cuts at the Grace Hospital include the closing of the Transitional Care Unit, privatization of outpatient physiotherapy, the loss of the community mental health program, major changes to shift rotations, and the privatization of food services.
Middlechurch Home will also be losing its in-house food services as a result of these changes, according to the release.
“Manitobans didn’t elect Brian Pallister to close ERs and gut our health care system,” said Boissonneault. “The government is cutting programs to try to make their finances look good, they don’t seem to care what impact these cuts will actually have on patients or residents.”
In Manitoba, CUPE represents approximately 26,000 members working in health care facilities, personal care homes, school divisions, municipal services, social services, child care centres, public utilities, libraries and family emergency services.
— Staff
