Scarborough Health-care Workers Demonstrate, Urge Chartwell Guildwood Retirement Residence to Protect Seniors’ Health as Staff Cuts Loom

TORONTO, ON, September 19, 2023 – Health-care workers at Chartwell Guildwood Retirement Residence, represented by the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA), have held a protest to call on their employer to protect its senior residents.

Chartwell Guildwood Retirement Residence notified staff earlier in March of a scheduling change that will cut their health-care workforce. Yesterday, Chartwell Guildwood indicated they will be reducing staff on its unit with residents suffering from severe levels of dementia effective October 2023. This unit is currently staffed by just four personal support workers (PSWs) on day shifts and four PSWs on evening shifts. The reduction will result in only three PSWs on day shifts and three PSWs on evening shifts.

Chartwell is a $2.5-billion corporation that owns 160 homes across Canada. It brands itself as “providing exceptional resident experiences,” yet is reducing PSW staffing; PSWs provide around-the-clock care for these elderly residents, some of whom are palliative.

Yesterday, 96% of health-care workers at Chartwell Guildwood donned large pink stickers that said, “No Cuts to Staff = Better Care” amid meetings with management. This action comes on the heels of a delegation two weeks ago, when a group of PSWs and registered practical nurses (RPNs) met with the General Manager and delivered a letter signed by 100% of the health-care staff at Chartwell, urging him to reverse his decision.

ONA Provincial President Erin Ariss says, “It’s outrageous that Chartwell Guildwood has decided not to make the health of our most vulnerable Scarborough residents a priority. With over 160 seniors at this retirement home, some of whom are palliative and have severe dementia, Chartwell’s decision to cut their workforce puts these vulnerable people and the staff who care for them at grave risk. This employer needs to do the right thing immediately: protect their residents’ health and safety by ensuring that no staffing is reduced.”

ONA is the union representing 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care, public health, the community, clinics and industry.

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