Hospital unions fear layoffs as LHSC deficit soars to $150M

Workers at London Health Sciences Centre have a message for the hospital as it copes with a deficit expected to nearly double to $150 million by the spring of 2025.

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The hospital’s books won’t be balanced on the backs of its staff, said two unions representing workers.

Unions representing some nurses and office staff want reduced hospital administration, more community-based health care and more funding from the Ontario government to cope with the shortfall, they said Friday.

“There is concern that budget cuts may impact the staff we have. “Staffing cannot be impacted,” said Doris Grinspun, chief executive of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario.

“Nursing is absolutely critical. Staffing at the level of registered nurses and nurse practitioners is important to quality health care.”

Grinspun is calling for a review of the “hefty salaries” of hospital administrators and greater access to community services to reduce hospital spending.

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“Government also has to fund the hospital’s needs,” she said.

LHSC reported Wednesday it ended the 2023-24 fiscal year on March 31 with a $78.1-million deficit, about $2 million more than forecast and more than $30 million higher than the previous year.

But that pales in comparison to what is coming, a projected $150-million shortfall by the end of March 2025.

LHSC is one of Canada’s largest acute-care teaching hospitals. It operates three hospitals and has more than 15,000 staff.

“The government needs to respond,” Grinspun said.

The Ontario government gave the hospital $1.4 billion in 2024, an increase from $1.27 billion in 2023 and the hospital still spent $78 million more than it received.

But hospitals also run on office and support staff and a move to slash their ranks would impact patient care, said Corey LaRose, president of COPE Local 448, the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, representing office workers.

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“I think it is clearly a concern,” he said of layoff fears at LHSC. “I know they will go line-by-line and look hard at a lot of things.

“There is concern among our members. We are not the highest paid at the hospital, but you need staff to get things done.”

It is typical to use attrition to reduce office staff but that ends up creating more work and stress on those remaining, LaRose said.

“It puts a ton of pressure on others, they have to deal with increased workload.”

LaRose also called on the Ontario government to boost health care spending.

“We are concerned the province is defunding public health care so they can create private options,” he said.

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David Musyj, acting chief executive of LHSC, said the hospital is undergoing a review of its spending and will look to reduce administration. It plans to establish benchmarks, measuring its spending against other hospitals. He hired an outside agency to review spending and compare it to other hospitals.

In addition Musyj voiced concern over budgeting practice at LHSC. Two years ago, the hospital received a “balanced budget waiver” from the province giving it five years to balance its budget. There was no plan in place on how to balance the budget prior to his taking the helm at LHSC in May, he said.

The hospital’s budget report also revealed expenses were higher than budgeted, “primarily due to the increased wages and benefits for hospital employees as a result of the repeal of Bill 124, as well as the inflationary pressures on supplies and expenses,” the report said.

Bill 124 capped salary increases for public sector workers at one per cent a year for three years, but the Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled it unconstitutional and the government repealed it.

It is estimated that the repeal will cost the province $6 billion.

As for some other expenses, the hospital spent $47 million in capital, equipment and technology and $29.9 million on other capital projects, its 2024 annual report said.

The hospital budget is about $1.6 billion.

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