OPSEU Local 331 NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release August 29, 2008

Whitby Mental Health Centre short more than 50 nurses amid high patient occupancy rates

WHITBY - Frustration is growing among staff at the Whitby Mental Health Centre who are facing extreme nursing shortages and high patient occupancy rates.

The Centre has 44 unfilled positions for registered nurses and 13 for registered practical nurses.

Since it was divested from the Ontario Public Service, the patient occupancy rate has skyrocketed from an average of 70 per cent to more than 95 per cent.

"We are concerned this situation could have grave consequences for our patients," says Joan Gates, President of Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 331. "Staff are burned out from continually working short, and from expectations to work more overtime."

The Centre is admitting more mentally ill acute patients with complex needs. Staff say they are required to speed up care and rush patients out.

Meanwhile the transition from a provincially run psychiatric hospital to a facility under the Public Hospitals Act has swamped staff with both paperwork and educational/training requirements. The Centre is altering schedules without consulting staff, leaving many to scramble to find new child care arrangements, and to juggle educational commitments.

"Senior health administrators talk about Whitby Mental Health Centre playing a role in solving the problems at Rouge Valley, but we are struggling to even maintain our present responsibilities, and staff fear that quality of care is current compromised," says Gates.

Staff from Whitby Mental Health Centre will gather at the Durham Region Labour Councils Annual Labour Day Picnic as part of a campaign to take member concerns to the Community.

When: Monday Sept. 1, 2008

Where: Memorial Park, Oshawa corner of Simcoe St. and John St.

When: 11a.m.- 3 p.m.

For more information, contact Joan Gates, Local 331, (905) 435-3003 or David Cox, OPSEU Communications, 416-443-8888.