Health Sciences North Health-Care Professionals at Mediation, Seeking Better Care for Patients

SUDBURY, ON, May 16, 2024 – Dozens of health-care professionals rallied outside Heath Sciences North (HSN) in support of their Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) bargaining team today. The health-care professionals are now in arbitration, seeking a resolution to extensive staffing shortages and lagging wages in a new contract that would facilitate better patient care delivery.

“It is unacceptable that the health-care professionals at this major hospital have been left struggling to provide good-quality care and diagnostic services to their patients while experiencing serious staff shortages and working without a respectful, current contract since June 2022,” says ONA President Erin Ariss, RN.

“This employer has utterly failed to recruit and retain sufficient levels of these highly skilled health-care professionals in 15 different health-care professional classifications,” she says. “HSN has expected these dedicated, highly educated professionals to provide the essential work they do to diagnose, treat and help patients during recovery while simultaneously working for almost two years with an expired contract even amidst high inflation rates.”

HSN health-care professionals most impacted by these shortages include radiation therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and respiratory therapists. There are also a wide range of skilled workers working in pharmacy, lab, and diagnostic imaging who are experiencing shortages. The shortages have meant that patients have suffered delays in accessing diagnostic work and treatment, and the heavy workloads have left many health-care professionals burnt out.

“We ask the people of Sudbury to stand behind their health-care professionals in their fight for action on pushing their employer to retain current workers and recruit others,” says Ariss. “They are fighting hard for better care for every patient they see.”

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

-30-

To arrange an interview, contact:

ONA Media Relations, media@ona.org