Health Minister Adrian Dix expects most to get vaccinated so they can return to work
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Surgeries are being postponed and access to diagnostic tests in British Columbia hospitals and clinics is being reduced due to the loss of health care workers who have not been vaccinated.
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More than 4,000 health workers in British Columbia who have not received at least one dose of the vaccine were placed on leave without pay on Tuesday. They have until November 15 to receive their first dose or they will be fired. Meanwhile, the health minister said health authorities have been working on plans to fill those vacancies.
Adrian Dix said that most urban health authorities like Fraser and Vancouver Coastal are better able to fill vacancies because they have a larger pool of occasional staff to call upon. Rural regions with lower vaccination rates, such as the interior and northern health, face greater challenges.
There are about 126,000 public sector health workers in British Columbia.
“Let’s say something like kidney (kidney) care where you have a limited number of employees and one of two of them can’t work in that circumstance, it’s really challenging,” he said. “I think it’s fair to say that in some areas, for example diagnostic imaging, our labs in different parts of the province, there will be some impact. We will have to initially reduce the hours to address that or provide other personnel in the coming weeks. “
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Some kidney patients in Grand Forks are being sent more than 100 miles away to Trail for dialysis.
Provincial Health Official Dr. Bonnie Henry said that some staff from top health authorities may be temporarily dispatched to fill positions at places like the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.
“We will look at other parts of the system to supplement interior areas where there is a temporary shortage of people.”
Dix hopes that people on unpaid leave will get vaccinated soon. He said that about 1,500 healthcare workers received their first dose of vaccine in the week leading up to Tuesday’s deadline.
“We’re certainly hopeful that some people, and we’ve been seeing this in the last few days, will get vaccinated, and we’re hopeful that they will do it and tackle the problem that way.”
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A spokesman for the Hospital Employees Union representing laboratory assistants, pharmacy technicians, administrators, housekeepers, food services, janitors and orderlies said 97 percent of those workers are vaccinated.
Mike Old said the union is encouraging others to overcome their doubts about vaccines by seeking information through the BC Center for Disease Control and speaking with their family doctors.
“We understand the severity our healthcare system is facing. It is also a health and safety problem in the workplace, ”he said. “Very difficult conversations are taking place among healthcare workers right now.”
The president of the Health Sciences Association, which represents 22,000 physical therapists, counselors and medical technicians in British Columbia, said the group supports the vaccine’s mandate. However, Kane Tse worries about the effect of having fewer workers in the system.
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“We have long been concerned about the increased workload and stress for healthcare employees, and this situation has become unsustainable due to the pandemic,” said Tse. “We urge the government to act quickly and decisively to support the people who care for us with actions to address growing shortages and severe depletion.”
About 1,800 workers in long-term care and assisted living facilities who are not vaccinated lost their jobs Tuesday. Old said some of those positions will be filled thanks to the intensified training, which was announced by the province last fall.
“It takes a year to a year and a half for people to go through that program, so it will be useful in the medium term, but in the short term, we are facing a crisis.”
He said many nursing homes have chosen to keep employees on leave without pay in the hope that they are fully vaccinated.
Reference-vancouversun.com