Nurse, resident start petitions to reverse HN Health Unit cuts

By Kaitlyn Clark

The Haldimand Press

HALDIMAND—In the wake of three Haldimand Norfolk nurses being put in a layoff position as the Board of Health (BOH) voted to reduce health programming for cost savings, a local nurse  and a local resident have made online petitions asking the BOH to reverse their decision.

“Ford’s government promised there would be no reductions to frontline positions and urged municipalities to find ‘efficiencies’…. Many municipalities did precisely that,” said Melanie Holjak, RN, HN Public Health Nurse, and Ontario Nurse’s Association (ONA) Bargaining Unit President & Local 7 Coordinator. “The Board of Health for the Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU) decided they would not maintain the same level of service…. I do believe further cuts will be seen next year and in years to follow. If the BOH is willing to reduce services to families with children, as well as clinical services for those who have no other options, I see no limitations to what they could cut in the future.”

Norfolk County, who is in charge of Health and Social Services (HSS) for both Norfolk and Haldimand, said it was making various cuts across its budget to get its $81 million in debt under control, adding that the $296,000 HSS budget cut is to offset provincial downloading. The Healthy Babies/Healthy Children Program is continuing, but the number of Family Home Visitors was reduced by two; this position offers parenting support, information on child development, and connects parents with community resources. An HSS representative said that while it would no longer be offering one-on-one sexual health services outside of high schools or smoking cessation programs, those programs should be available elsewhere in the community.

Holjak disagrees however and said that cutting the Sexual Health Program led to laying off the only Nurse Practitioner at HNHU, whom other nurses rely on for their expertise, along with a sexual health Public Health Nurse. Both nurses provided service for those with no family doctor, with no OHIP, and/or with limited transportation as the program was available in the towns of Simcoe, Caledonia, and Dunnville. She also noted Haldimand’s lack of public transportation can make walk-in clinics inaccessible, and that both counties have a “significant shortage of family doctors”. A 2019 assessment by HNHU showed “not one private sector provider is able to provide all the services delivered” in the Sexual Health Program.

Nurses protesting last month outside of a
Norfolk County Council & Board of Health meeting.