Delays in assessment harm patients, says striking union

Jeff Green | Feb 11, 2015

The strike by 230 care co-ordinators who work for the Southeast Community Care Access Centre (CCAC), which covers Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, Leeds Grenville, Lanark and Hastings Counties, is already having an impact on patient care, says Lisa Turner, the president of the Ontario Nurses’ Association branch that represents the workers.

The strike began last Friday, Feb. 6, at the same time as similar workers in nine of the 10 regional CCACs in Ontario rejected offers from management.

According to Turner, workers are seeking a 1.4% increase each year, but management is offering a lump sum payment in lieu of an increase in year one, and 1.4% in year two.

“Our demands are very reasonable; they are less than other bargaining units, and by offering a lump sum payment they are not moving the pay grid forward, which is not acceptable. We have had our wages frozen for two years before this,” said Turner, who also said that no further negotiations have been initiated by management since the strike began.

Turner said that claims by the CCAC that management personnel are able to handle intake and changes in care plans are not believable.

“They do not have the staff available,” she said, when contacted at a mass rally of striking workers, which was held at Kingston General Hospital on Tuesday (February 10).

Striking workers include registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers. Services offered by the CCAC are designed to help people stay in the home longer or leave hospital sooner.

Ongoing CCAC service is not affected by the strike; it is only those seeking new service or a change in the service that is offered by the CCAC that are affected.

According to Gary Buffett of the Communications office of the Southeast CCAC, about 20 management personnel, who are trained health care professionals, are handling the work load during the strike.

“I would not say it is business as usual,” said Buffett, “but we are keeping our head above water.”

The focus for the CCAC has been to deal with people leaving hospital and needing service after their release.

Home visits by care co-ordinators, such as those provided by the co-ordinator normally based in Northbrook, are not taking place except in rare cases, Buffett said.

“We are doing assessments over the phone right now in most cases and extending service that way,” he said.

“Nobody is working out of KGH, where 20 people are normally based,” said Lisa Turner., “there is no way they can keep up with the volume. There is a whole swath of people that are not getting access to care. We need to get the word out there that the most vulnerable patients are losing access to care.”

The negotiations between the CCAC and nine out of 10 Ontario Nursing Association bargaining units are being handled out of Toronto even though each CCAC has a contract with their own workers. The issue separating the parties is money, and it is unclear how far apart the two parties actually are in terms of money.

Both sides also claim that they are willing to re-enter negotiations and the other is refusing.

What is clear, at least from the statements by both Lisa Turner and CCAC spokesperson Gary Buffett, is that both sides recognise the strike is stressing the system.

According to Gary Buffett, the stress to the system is not compromising patient care.

“We are providing the referrals and we will clean up the mess later,” he said.

Lisa Turner, however, said that patient care is already being impacted.