Officials at the Ottawa Hospital are refuting claims that nearly 200 nurses will be laid off, putting the quality of patient care at risk.

Dr. Jack Kitts, CEO of the Ottawa Hospital, issued a statement Monday indicating 48 nurses will be affected by planned changes at the hospital.

"We are undertaking major changes in the next few months," Kitts told CTV Ottawa on Monday.

While he said some nurses will be affected, he noted the impact will be minimal.

He insists the quality of patient care at the hospital will remain unchanged and there will actually be more beds for acute care, as long as the hospital receives a two per cent budget increase from the provincial government.

However, the Ontario Nurses' Association issued a warning about the situation on Friday, saying changes at the hospital will result in nursing layoffs, as well as removing current positions.

"These cuts will have significant effects on the care we provide," ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud stated in a media release.

"The cuts will impact care for a large number of patients . . . We'll see rates of morbidity and mortality rise as patients lose the expertise and skills that RNs bring – studies have shown a seven per cent rise in patient complications and death as extra patients are added to an average RN's workload."

The association said it was given notice last week that 70 registered nurses would be laid off, and another 120 positions would be eliminated.

However, Kitts said he's confident the changes won't leave nurses searching for jobs. He said the hospital currently has almost 200 nursing vacancies, and many nurses should be able to find jobs through incentives, attrition and reorganization at the hospital.

"Our nurses are the backbone of these teams. As a frontline physician and medical leader with over 25 years experience caring for patients in hospitals, I admire and respect the important role they play," Kitts said in a prepared statement.

The Ottawa Hospital and Queensway Carleton Hospital were both forced to cancel surgeries last week due to overcrowding and not enough beds at the hospitals.

Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa McLeod says the situation is not acceptable, demanding the government increase funding.

According to law, Ontario hospitals have to balance their books every year.