Shawn Shank shows his opposition to hospital cuts at the town hall meeting Thursday. Photo by Dennis Chippa.
Shawn Shank has had a tough week.
In fact, he’s had several tough weeks over the last few years.
The president of CUPE 139, from the North Bay Regional Health Centre, says he knows it is far from over.
Shank was one of the hospital employees on hand at Thursday’s town hall meeting about P3 hospitals, and says his members are first and foremost, shocked.
“Anxious, desperate, they don’t know what their futures are going to be like.”
When the hospital announced It would reduce its staff by158 over the next four weeks, the assumption from outside the hospital was that the decisions were already made.
Shank says that’s not true, and in fact, no one knows where the cuts will come.
“We have no clue. We were not given any details, classifications, areas. Really we were told yesterday that it would be three to four weeks before we get any details on where exactly the cuts are going to be.”
What is worse, says Shank, is that staff must continue to care for patients that need their help, despite all the uncertainty.
He admits the stress level is understandably high.
“It’s really difficult. People go in there, they’re there to care for patients, and you are there to give it your best. But you always have it in the back of your mind that ‘am I the next one, am I the next one without work’ so it makes it difficult.”
He says he left the meeting Thursday feeling a little better, hoping the plans for a day of action against hospital cuts, centred in North Bay, may at least draw attention to the problem.
“This room here is pretty enthusiastic. A lot of people who really want to do good, and want to keep the services in North Bay. We’re going to try and start a postcard campaign, and I will be asking our MPP Vic Fedeli to deliver those postcards to the house on our behalf. “
Shank is hoping if the campaigns being planned can’t save cuts this time around, they may at least save the next round from happening.
