MUHC accused of lack of 'accountability' over budget cuts

A union representing most of the province's nurses says the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is keeping staff in the dark about how it will slash its budget over the next two years.

The Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la Santé du Québec (FIQ) said they have yet to receive an answer regarding how the MUHC will implement $28 million in cuts to make up for a budget shortfall.

"The MUHC and ministry officials are acting like it's their own money, that they don't have accountability," said FIQ president Régine Laurent.

"But they're working with our tax dollars."

• MUHC to make $28M in cuts to make up for budget deficit

Laurent said there are a number of concerns, including what impact the cuts may have on patient safety and nurse training.

At a news conference on Sunday afternoon she called for an investigation to shed light on the MUHC's financial situation and where the cuts will be made.

Laurent described the attitude of the MUHC and the ministry as being something similar to Omertà, a code of silence used by organized crime.

It hasn't always been this way according to Denyse Joseph, the FIQ local president representing employees at the MUHC.

"We had good open communication," said Joseph. "Today there's no more talk. We are called into a meeting to be told this is going to happen."

• MUHC nurses 'in total distress' thanks to cuts, union says

Joseph said MUHC employees raised questions about the cuts at a recent town hall meeting but were never given an answer. What the union wants to see from the MUHC is a global plan for the cuts, she said.

In an email MUHC spokesperson Gilda‎ Salomone wrote that they are committed to implementing its "budget equilibrium plan while protecting patient safety and access to care and services at all times."

She added that they were surprised by the FIQ, and said the MUHC presented the plan seven times last week during meetings in which the union participated.