Editor's Note: Following publication of this article, Southlake Regional Health Centre requested clarification regarding the timing of the distribution of an internal email. According to the hospital, it was sent to all staff at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 24.
The Crown's decision to drop all but two of the five charges against Southlake Regional Health Centre and the charge against CEO Arden Krystal is "shameful," according to the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA).
"What a way to show the nurses what their true worth is, by their employers and by this government. It is absolutely disgusting," said ONA region 3 vice-president DJ Sanderson.
The Ministry of Labour decision to charge Krystal directly was "groundbreaking," Sanderson said, and sent a message that hospital CEOs will be held accountable for not maintaining safety in the workplace — but it was "wiped away" without explanation.
Now the message is that not taking responsibility for what occurs in the hospital and not keeping people safe is OK, he added.
The Ministry of Labour charged Southlake and president and CEO Arden Krystal with violations of the workplace safety act in October 2021.
ONA president Cathryn Hoy said she is "incensed" by the Crown decision to "quietly" withdraw several of the latest round of workplace violence charges against the Newmarket hospital.
“The charges that were brought against Southlake, and CEO Arden Krystal personally, resulted from a three separate incidents of workplace violence that happened in October and December of 2020, including an incident involving a nurse and ONA member who was injured while caring for a patient with a known history of violent behaviours.
"A thorough investigation led the ministry to charge the workplace and, in a first, the CEO herself, for failing to protect health-care workers. Yet all but two of the charges have been withdrawn with no explanation as to why,” Hoy said in an email.
In an internal email sent to staff, the hospital stated the charges were "without merit" and it believed the decision to drop them was due to its "demonstrated commitment to safety."
Sanderson called the email "gobsmacking" and said it was "almost self-congratulatory" in tone.
"A cold email on a Friday afternoon and the way the government has handled this as well, it shows us what our worth is in the system and it's shameful."
As former bargaining unit president at Southlake, Sanderson said he is not fooled by the hospital's words, saying he has seen many similar emails indicating the hospital's "great intentions" to commit to safety protocols. Intentions are meaningless, he said, if the hospital doesn't follow through with its own regulations.
"We've seen the same commitment from this particular employer time and time again. . . They can have all the great policies they want on paper but if no one is actually taking them seriously ... they're not worth the paper they're printed on."
Violent incidences continue to occur at hospitals and it's "destroying the profession," Sanderson added.
"When someone sees one of their coworkers assaulted when they're trying to do their best, it tears the heart out of our membership. It's so upsetting that they have to continually deal with this and no one cares."
Sanderson also faults the Ford government for not taking hospital safety seriously enough. The federal government created Bill C-3 in 2021 — an amendment to the Criminal Code to include violence against health-care workers and harsher penalties during sentencing for those who target them — but the dropped charges are an indication that the hospital, the Ministry of Labour, the Minister of Health, Premier Doug Ford and now the Attorney General do not care about the safety of nurses, he said.
Ultimately though, it's Krystal's responsibility to ensure measures are in place and staff is safe, he added.
The two remaining charges deal with the hospital's failure to ensure adequate flagging and visible safety indicators were in place to alert workers to the hazard of workplace violence posed by a patient and its failure to use or maintain Staff Assist Pendants -— a pendant enabling all Southlake staff, including its CEO, to call for assistance if they are in danger.
“The pandemic has exacerbated already dire workplace conditions. Workplace violence has always been underreported, and with charges like these being dropped, this does not treat violence against nurses with the seriousness it deserves and may further deter workers reporting violence,” said Hoy.
In 2020, Southlake pleaded guilty to two charges of violating the workplace safety act stemming from incidents in 2019 when a registered nurse and security guard were attacked in the emergency department and adult inpatient mental health unit. The remaining seven charges against Southlake were dropped due to a plea deal.
"If this was any other criminal act that someone was charged with and within a couple of years charged with the exact same thing... What would the public be saying if this was a drunk driver or anyone else that was acting as recklessly as what we're seeing here?" Sanderson said.
In response to a request for comment made to Southlake regarding the dropped charges, an email statement was provided by Stephanie Young, a lawyer representing Krystal.
"As the CEO of Southlake, Arden Krystal has always acted with integrity and in the best interests of the hospital. From the beginning of this process it was evident that the charge had no merit," she said. "Under Arden’s leadership, Southlake has consistently gone above and beyond to ensure the well-being and protection of all who work at and receive care at the hospital."
After several adjournments, a hearing date for the remaining charges has yet to be scheduled.
ONA is the union representing more than 68,000 nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, industry and clinics.
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