The elimination of around twenty beneficiary attendant positions at the University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM) demonstrates the return of “austerity” in the Quebec health network, the Union of Hospital Employees argued on Monday. establishment (SECHUM-CSN).
Since last spring, 27 beneficiary attendant positions and 5 administrative agent positions have been abolished at the CHUM, the hospital confirms.
“It causes a very, very large overload for the workers who are on the floor,” underlined the president of the union organization, Anick Mailhot, during a press briefing held in front of the establishment.
The union is therefore demanding the reinstatement of these eliminated positions and “the immediate cancellation of policies to reduce spending in health and social services”. “Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé says he wants quality care for patients. So stop cutting staff in patient care. That’s where we need staff, not at the Santé Québec agency or elsewhere. »
For its part, the CHUM maintains that all position abolitions were carried out by maintaining the “clinical performance of the care units in accordance with the best practices of the network and by ensuring the safety and quality of care offered to patients”.
The establishment thus explains having carried out a comparative analysis with other hospitals, before eliminating these positions last June which were all “without holders”.
However, it is not because these positions had no holder that they were not occupied, notes the president of the CHUM employees’ union. “Most were replacements and should have been on display over a year ago,” she says.
“Austerity” measures
During the union’s press briefing on Monday, Québec solidaire MP Vincent Marissal deplored the current state of the Quebec health system. “Staff and patients are suffering and the quality of care is deteriorating. Then, the private sector obviously takes advantage of this to take the place unoccupied by public care. »
“We are quietly demolishing, piece by piece, our network,” he lamented.
Mr. Marissal affirmed that the CAQ government was indeed introducing “austerity” measures. “We are in the process of being given a quick pass by the Coalition Avenir Québec. She tells us: “There is no austerity, it is rigor. We just ask establishments like this to respect budgets.” But we are asking to respect the budget with less money,” he stressed.
At the end of September, - revealed that in order to return to budget balance by March 31, 2025, Quebec health establishments must find more than $1 billion in savings.
Last Thursday, the public broadcaster reported that more than 40 nurse, auxiliary nurse and beneficiary attendant positions were eliminated within the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center (CIUSSS) of the Center-Sud -from-the-Island-of-Montreal. These deletions affect, among others, the Notre-Dame Hospital and the Verdun Hospital.
The CIUSSS told - that these abolitions followed the “removal of “superstructures” created during the COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with the health emergency, the CIUSSS had added temporary positions to meet exceptional needs, as was the case for intensive care. Today, these measures are no longer necessary.”
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