hospital

Dozens of jobs are being cut at the North Bay Regional Health Centre.

That announcement from CEO Paul Heinrich on Wednesday.

He says it will be between four to six weeks for all the details to be finalized.

Staff, volunteers and physicians all learned that changes are being initiated at the health centre to allow the facility to operate more efficiently while ensuring quality patient care.

Officials say even though changes and improvements were made over the past three years, the hospital is still not operating as efficiently as its peers.

They also say if changes weren’t made, the hospital would end up with a $14-million shortfall this fiscal year 2015-16.

Shawn Shank is the President of CUPE Local 139 and he says it is a big shock.

Heinrich says savings across all aspects of the hospital are being looked at, including how and where services are delivered, staff mix and purchasing options.

The entire process is expected to be completed by April 2016.

Meantime, several people are weighing in on Wednesday’s announcement of the job losses at the North Bay Regional Health Centre.

President of CUPE Ontario Fred Hahn says the cuts are happening across the province, but they have hit North Bay dramatically.

North Bay Mayor Al McDonald says this adds pressure on their economic development team to find ways to make up for those jobs locally.

McDonald says this goes against what they are trying to do for the city.

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli also gave a Members Statement at Queens Park on Wednesday, saying there have been too many cuts in a short time and people here are tired of it.

Meantime, Fedeli rose on Thursday during Question Period to ask the government about the cuts.

He says it’s devastating for the community, the workers and their patients who he says are concerned about access to quality healthcare.

Health and Long Term Care Minister Dr Eric Hoskins talked about needing to find efficiencies after amalgamating into the new facility.

Here is the entire exchange: