Resident doctors to strike at four major Toronto hospitals next week
Toronto General, Sunnybrook, North York General and Mount Sinai will all be affected as resident doctors walk out over pay and working conditions.
By Jenny Smith ·
Resident doctors at several major Toronto hospitals are set to strike next week, piling further pressure on an already-stretched Ontario health system.
Resident doctors at Toronto General Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, North York General Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital are scheduled to walk out from 7am on Monday, June 15 until 6.59am on Friday, June 19.
It marks the second such job action by the city's resident doctors in recent months, following a similar walkout in April that disrupted thousands of scheduled appointments.
Hospitals brace for disruption
“All of our hospitals will be impacted by this industrial action,” a spokesperson for the affected hospital network confirmed, adding: “We are working hard to ensure we minimise disruption to services.”
“Emergency care and acute services will be prioritised, and patients seeking urgent treatment will be seen,” they said.
Pay dispute at the centre
The resident doctors, who carry out much of the front-line work in Canada's teaching hospitals, say years of below-inflation pay rises have left their real-terms earnings sharply down compared with a decade ago.
Patients with non-urgent appointments during the strike window are being advised to attend unless contacted directly by their hospital.