Eight hospitals in eastern Ontario are looking at job cuts to deal with a massive shortfall as they head into the 2009-2010 budget year.
"We have a shortage of health care providers, and that's not a good thing in and of itself, but if you got to constrict some place, you're doing it for jobs that aren't filled at this point," said Robert Cushman, CEO of the Champlain Health Network.
Although health care positions will be cut through attrition, Cushman insists patient care at hospitals across the region won't be affected.
"There may be one or two less providers in a certain area, and as I said there have been some transfers from inpatient to outpatient, but all and all we don't think it will have any real marked effect," he told CTV Ottawa.
Health care advocates, however, say it's difficult to believe cuts won't affect patients.
"That cannot go without impact to patient care, these are positions that exist because they serve a purpose," said Marlene Rivier, chair of the Ottawa Health Coalition.
"I don't think there's any fat left in health care. We've been doing this for a lot of years, we know budgets for hospitals. The increase is less than cost of inflation and doesn't take into account population growth, so I would be amazed if that were the case."
Hospitals have until the middle of January to cut $15 million to balance their budgets.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee
