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<\/a><\/a>\nStacy James, president of CUPE 5852, says that SHN is facing a staffing crisis, which requires a big investment in improving conditions of work and care. However, the current budget deficit could lead to further reduction in staffing that would jeopardize the well-being of staff and patients alike.<\/p>
\nIn a November 2025 CUPE survey that yielded 551 responses, 71 per cent of staff said patient care is compromised due to insufficient staffing levels.<\/p>
\n\u201cOur hospital desperately requires higher staffing levels to ensure people are receiving appropriate and timely care,\u201d James says. \u201cBut instead of a drive to attract and retain staff, SHN is now focused on reducing the deficit caused by provincial funding cuts<\/a>. If we end up with staffing cuts like other hospitals in Ontario<\/a>, it will intensify the staffing crunch and make it even more challenging to care for our patients.\u201d<\/p> \nThe union says that the staff are experiencing high levels of stress and burnout due to poor working conditions. She says 43 per cent of SHN staff have experienced violence at work.<\/p> \nViolent incidents increase<\/a> when patients are agitated due to long wait-times and insufficient care in understaffed \u2013 and often overcrowded \u2013 hospital units.<\/p> \nDrawing attention to the twin issues of low staffing and capacity, the union highlights that only 24 per cent of emergency department patients at the SHN are admitted on time within the target time of eight hours, based on latest Health Quality Ontario data<\/a>.<\/p> \n\u201cThe government\u2019s funding cuts have had a profoundly negative impact on patients, particularly the elderly, who are the most likely to bear the brunt of long wait-times, delayed treatments, and lower quality of care,\u201d says Michael Hurley, president of CUPE\u2019s hospital division, which represents 46,000 workers including SHN employees. \u201cThe government\u2019s deliberate destabilization of our public hospitals, just as it faces the demands of an aging and growing population, is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p> \nCUPE will be holding a demonstration on Monday, calling on the Ford government to fund SHN properly.<\/p> \nWho:<\/b> Health care workers at SHN\n \nWhat:<\/b> CUPE 5852 rally to Fund SHN Properly<\/p> \nWhen:<\/b> 11:30 a.m. on Monday, June 1 2026<\/p> \nWhere: <\/b>Centenary Hospital (SHN), 2867 Ellesmere Rd., Scarborough<\/p> \n-30-<\/p> \n:gv\/cope491<\/p>