Alberta Health Services

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OK, we've all heard that they are eliminating 100 managerial positions.

We got the OT ban announcement last week, followed by the "part timers should pick up shifts before OT is permitted" (well, duh, that's in the contracts, can't help it if the staffing office failed to follow the rules), followed by the those on OT will be floated off to units within their services that are short.

How about the wonderful pens for nursing week?

How is AHS affecting your work day?

Specializes in ER, L&D, RR, Rural nursing.

Right now, the only normal is inconsistency, rumors and decreasing morale. And the representing body isn't doing much (imo) to rectify things. I am not sure, but sometimes it seems that there is someone elses' agenda that is being played out and I don't have a clue what is going on. I was around in the 90's and have no desire to go there again.

I would hate to be a patient in albertas' hospitals in the near future...it is only going to get worse.

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Face it, we all know what is happening.

Fast Eddie wants to break the Canada Health Act and go to private insurance. I'm sure some journalist will one day find direct ties between the provincial Conservative party to US health insurance companies.

Union busting? I'd bet my money on it. The recruitment drive in the US and far east made sure of hiring nurses from a non-union background.

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Answered my own question:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Christmas+meal+hospital+staff+shelved/2351167/story.html

And nice move from the paper that the public can't comment.

Dumb and dumber have cancelled Christmas and New Years food for working staff.

Nice move for morale guys.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Not to worry, the public has commented plenty about this Grinchy move from Scrooge McDuckett following other stories on the Journal site about health care cuts (like the one about no longer providing snacks for the psych patients at AHE), and there were a couple of vents in Venting on Saturday.

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"cause you know that all that coffee that they use at group meetings could reduce somebody's bonus.

Makes you wonder, the budget gets to pay out on the bonus. I mean wouldn't that save the province $125K? Which would cover the Psych patients "luxuries" and the cost of lunch. Which I might add was more about morale building than actually feeding us. Half the unit would go down at a time and eat together and with the porters, lab staff, etc.

But hey, a guy's gotta get his bonus.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

The rumour mill is churning over at Covenant (not technically part of AHS) right now. The word is that layoff notices are going out tomorrow to ALL RNs with fewer than 24 months' seniority. This would have been a very carefully planned move, since the current collective agreement contains a clause that prevents displacement (aka bumping) by anyone with fewer than 24 months' seniority, so it would be considerably less administratively onerous to do that. They'll just be gone. I would believe this to include all IENs hired in the preceding 24 months as well. There is no provision for relocation expenses. RNs laid off in this manner (since there won't be any vacancies for them to move into and they won't be able to bump) will have a choice between layoff with recall rights* of up to 12 months following their last day of employment or severance of 2 weeks' full time pay at their basic rate of pay for each FULL year of continuous employment (calculated from last date of hire recognized by the Employer**) up to a maximum of 40 weeks (prorated for part time). But since all of these nurses will have fewer than 2 years of continuous service their severance will amount to peanuts. Accepting severance is the same as resigning, so if they take that, they're done.

* This means that if there is are vacancies that arise while there are nurses on layoff, the vacancy will be offered to laid-off nurses in order of seniority. Layoffs are done in reverse order, ie last hired, first fired while recall is the opposite, the last fired is the first rehired.

** If a nurse changed units on November 1, 2009, that would be considered their last date of hire. Believe it or not.

This has huge implications for some units where there have been service expansions in the last couple of years, such as the neonatal unit at the Grey Nuns that more than doubled beds and many new grads were hired to staff them. That unit could lose maybe half of its nurses! No one knows when the axe will fall at AHS, but we know it's coming and will probably look just like this.

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Specializes in med/surg.

If our unit fired all the nurses that have been here less than 24 months they'd only have about 7 members of staff left! As we have around 55 pts who are very acute surg oncology I can't see them managing with those numbers!

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What about casual staff? Do they get laid off the same way? I have been casual in the same place for 4 years, but left briefly and returned in May 2009. How do they plan to run the system with no staff???

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

I hear you, RGN1. We have a huge number of similarly experienced people on our unit too. As I said, it's still just a rumour, but I think I believe it, at least in part. Some units would just implode. UNA hasn't said anything about it yet so I can't confirm that it is actually happening at Covenant tomorrow, only that the rumour is swirling.

Casual staff don't actually have "positions" that are deletable. And since they aren't eligible for any sort of benefits, they're cheap labour. Casuals will still work; the system would fall apart without them.

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Specializes in med/surg.

I just can't see it, the system would totally fall apart, I don't even think this govt could be that stupid could they?

Well I hear they need nurses in Nunavit - not sure the kids would be too happy though! :-) One thing's for sure though, I can't & won't go home!!!:-D

BTW, for us uninitiated what/who is Covenant?

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Well, they might need nurses in Nunavut, but it would take a lot of courage for me to choose to go there! The Northwet Territories only has 7 postings right now, mostly for community health nurses for places like Tuktoyaktuk.

Covenant is a faith-based hospital system that includes Edmonton General Hospital, Grey Nuns Hospital, Misericordia Hospital, St Joseph's Auxiliary Hospital and Youville Home. It used to be called Caritas and has more than 1500 beds in the system. They have a separate funding arrangement with the province but you can bet they've been handed a huge budget "adjustment" just like all the other public services.

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Jan, the rumour going around the Alex is that it is all staff with less than 14 months service (it would keep the expensively hired IENs from the far east employed and get rid of new, local hires). But then we are a really cynical bunch. That's right all staff from nurses to cleaners. And don't forget the rumoured privatization of housekeeping staff.

Now is there any truth to the story being floated that the land at Alberta Hospital, Edmonton has been sold to housing developers?

Moments like these make you proud to live here.

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