PEMBROKE, ON – Hundreds of Pembroke residents called randomly last Saturday, took time out of their day to take part in a poll asking them what they thought about the recent decision by the Pembroke Regional Hospital to contract out their surgical instrument sterilization to a Toronto company.
The results of the poll will be released tomorrow, Friday April 15, 2016 at 10 a.m. at 380 Isabella Street, Pembroke.
“We think this kind of community feedback that takes the pulse of area residents, is important and very instructional for the hospital. How the community feels about this contracting out of work previously done directly at the hospital, should matter very much to the hospital administration,” says Michael Hurley president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU).
What’s clear from the poll findings, is that those who answered the poll have a clear stance on the hospital’s multi-year contract with SteriPro. Under the deal, surgical instruments are shipped 820 km round-trip from Pembroke to Toronto. The Pembroke hospital proceeded with the contract although Trillium Health Partners, a 1250 bed hospital in Toronto ended its 10-year contract with the same outfit, after just 4 years due to concerns about the quality of instrument sterilization.
“If I were in the hospital’s position, I’d pay attention to the results because the respondents are the hospital’s community neighbours. They and their families are the very people who the hospital relies on for support, from volunteering to fund raising,” says Hurley.
For more information, please contact:
Michael Hurley
President OCHU/CUPE
416-884-0770
Stella Yeadon
CUPE Communications
416-559-9300