NDP Leader weighs in on hospital job cuts

Ontario’s NDP Leader says the provincial cuts to health care have gone too far.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has written the Premier calling on her “to take immediate action to stop cutting health care services and laying off health care workers at the North Bay Regional Health Centre.”

Last week, we learned 30 to 40 jobs will be cut at the hospital.

Hospital CEO Paul Heinrich indicated they have a shortfall of $5,000,000.

Horwath says more money is needed from the province for hospitals like the North Bay Regional Health Centre at the very least to cover the cost off inflationary pressure and population pressure and to deal with with the challenges of being a northern and rural hospital.

She’s asking the Premier to work with the hospital to prevent the layoffs and to do something about what she calls skyrocketing electricity bills which are projected to go up at the hospital by 12 % or $200,000 this year.