Penetanguishene – Waypoint workers have voted unanimously to demand the immediate resignation of all senior management staff at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care amidst chaotic mismanagement and escalating health and safety concerns.
“President Carol Lambie and her senior management team have run Waypoint into the ground,” said OPSEU President, Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “Their bad decisions are putting staff, patients and the community at risk. We’ve maxed out our patience: It’s time for them to take responsibility and step down.”
Serious mismanagement of staff scheduling has resulted in around $5 million in overtime costs this year alone. The problem is compounded by unusually high staff turnover rates. OPSEU has filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board following an attempt by Waypoint management to bypass the union and bargain directly with the staff to fix the problem.
Waypoint’s ongoing health and safety issues include the recent near-escape of a patient, who breached security and scaled a fence before being brought down by security staff.
OPSEU has learned that Waypoint attempted to cover up this incident to protect their reputation and breached protocol by not alerting the neighbouring community. The Minister of Labour has issued 10 orders against Waypoint following their investigation of the incident. The Ministry has asked for a thorough risk assessment, including an evaluation of patient to staff ratios.
“Waypoint has had health and safety problems for years now. Enough of the empty promises and bad management. It’s time to turn this ship around,” said Thomas.
Waypoint was made to pay a fine of $40,000 in December 2017 after pleading guilty to a Ministry of Labour charge about an incident that took place in 2016. The organization has yet to put in place all of the recommendations that came out of a resulting risk assessment process.
For more information: Warren (Smokey) Thomas, 613-329-1931