Full Breakdown
St. Joseph’s Health Care London Cuts 85 Registered Nurses, Shifts Care Model
By Drooid · · How we work
Layoffs and Reallocation Plan
St. Joseph’s Health Care London announced the termination of 85 registered nurses (RNs) who work at its Parkwood Institute. The plan removes 60 full-time and 25 part-time RN positions and replaces them with 82 full-time and 24 part-time direct-care roles, including registered practical nurses, personal support workers, therapy assistants, social service workers and therapeutic recreation assistants. The hospital’s internal note said the changes are intended to “realign how care is delivered” while preserving overall service levels.
Background and Financial Context
The cuts are framed as part of an austerity measure responding to a reported $4.7 million budget deficit at St. Joseph’s. Hospital officials emphasized that the restructuring is not meant to reduce care but to match patient needs with the “diverse skills and expertise” of the workforce. No specific external funding changes were cited.
Impact on Mental-Health Services
The layoffs will eliminate the COAST program—a partnership that pairs nurses with police officers for street patrols aimed at assisting individuals experiencing mental-health or addiction crises. The program is slated to end in mid-January. A nurse who requested anonymity warned that substituting RNs with lower-qualified staff could jeopardize care for patients with unpredictable outcomes, noting that the cuts remove roughly two-thirds of RN positions at Parkwood, which provides both inpatient and outpatient services and receives referrals from other hospitals.
Official Response
In its statement, St. Joseph’s acknowledged the difficulty of job-related changes and asserted that the restructuring “is not about reducing care.” The hospital said the new staffing mix will allow patients to receive care aligned with their mental-health, recovery and whole-person needs while making the best use of available resources.
Criticism from Nursing Leaders
Erin Ariss, president of the Ontario Association of Nurses, argued that eliminating RN positions cannot be justified amid a growing mental-health crisis in London. She highlighted that RNs hold the highest level of education and provide the safest care, and that assigning their duties to other workers would lower care quality. Ariss placed responsibility on the provincial government, noting a conversation with Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones and questioning why Ontario is the only province eliminating RN roles when health care is purportedly a priority.