The missive got here simply days after 4 PQCHC well being staff with many years of cumulative expertise misplaced their jobs with out trigger.
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Two Ottawa MPPs have written a scathing letter to provincial Well being Minister Sylvia Jones, asking that the federal government examine the administration at Pinecrest-Queensway Neighborhood Well being Centre.
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The missive got here simply days after 4 PQCHC well being staff with many years of cumulative expertise misplaced their jobs with out trigger, the most recent in what Ottawa West-Nepean’s Chandra Pasma and Ottawa Centre’s Joel Harden, each NDP MPPs, describe as a string of comparable employees reductions in recent times.
“Over the previous three years, a number of workers with long-tenure and good efficiency evaluations have been terminated or have left as a consequence of what they felt had been unsustainable working circumstances, leaving the PQCHC’s main care clinics and different packages short-staffed and unable to ship ample ranges of care to sufferers,” their letter says.
“Now we have been advised that over the previous three years as many as one-third of the employees of the PQCHC have been terminated or have left,” the letter continues. “Though non-disclosure agreements forestall all the particulars from being identified, we do know that there are a number of wrongful dismissal fits in opposition to the PQCHC, diverting funding from packages in direction of authorized charges.”
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Two household physicians, a nurse practitioner and a registered nurse got notices of termination with out trigger in April. Their final day of labor was July 29.
The centre has reportedly employed folks to switch the nurse and nurse practitioner. The replacements, in line with present and former employees members, are pretty new graduates. However the centre had not but changed the 2 medical doctors as of mid-July. The centre says it expects to be totally staffed earlier than the tip of the summer season.
Whereas indicating it had wait lists tons of of individuals lengthy, the centre mentioned the terminations had been a part of a restructuring that can enable it to serve 2,500 extra health-care shoppers with out new funding.
In a press release Thursday night, the centre’s CEO, Christopher McIntosh, mentioned, “Over the previous yr, my crew and I’ve been working to reshape our main care and psychological well being providers to advertise collaboration, innovation, and integration to raised serve shoppers. An important step on this course of was the creation of the brand new Built-in Healthcare portfolio, bringing collectively our main healthcare suppliers into one crew to ship extra streamlined providers to satisfy the bodily, psychological, and social well being care wants of our shoppers.”
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McIntosh additionally mentioned that the general staffing ranges on the centre had not been in the reduction of.
“Modifications have been made to staffing however there has not been a discount in total positions, and extra importantly, no impression on our well being care supply. To supply higher affected person care, we needed to make some tough selections.”
To realize its objectives of serving extra sufferers with out extra funding, many main care appointments will likely be shortened from the present default of half-hour to a median of 20 minutes.
“We all know from different suppliers that the common appointment will be shorter and deal with the complexity of our shoppers’ wants with out impacting care,” McIntosh mentioned final month.
The centre, he added, “must do a greater job” of asking shoppers upfront what the appointment is about after which reserving the suitable period of time with the suitable skilled, which may embody a dietician, chiropodist or registered nurse, moderately than a doctor or nurse practitioner. Shoppers who require longer appointments will nonetheless have them, he mentioned.
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“The plan is to make care higher.”
Chandra and Harden worry it received’t.
“Now we have heard related considerations from shoppers and employees of different packages throughout the PQCHC,” their letter continues. “The termination of staff with good efficiency evaluations severing the connection between shoppers and trusted care suppliers, a poisonous office tradition that led to the departure of workers, allegations of bullying and harassment, packages being left critically short-staffed, funding not being allotted the place funders and donors anticipated that funds can be used, and a decrease stage of service supplied to communities within the PQCHC catchment than what’s being supplied by different CHCs in Ottawa.”
In line with the MPPs, McIntosh has refused their requests for a gathering, whereas board chair Janet Bowes has solely indicated that the board will meet with them someday sooner or later.
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“We subsequently haven’t any means to establish that restructuring selections are being made in the very best pursuits of sufferers,” the letter concludes, “and funds are being spent as supposed by the ministries, municipality, and repair organizations funding the packages and providers supplied by the PQCHC. Nonetheless, provided that sufferers and shoppers of the PQCHC are already going with out care and important helps, we really feel that this matter can’t wait and we urge you to open an investigation within the PQCHC instantly.”
In his assertion Thursday, McIntosh confirmed that each MPPs had reached out concerning the restructuring, “and we stay up for assembly with them shortly to debate this matter.”
The ministry of well being didn’t reply to a request for remark despatched Thursday afternoon.
With information from Elizabeth Payne
