This email is circulating around...(?fire and rehire?) This was the email I received in my AHS account. See below: Looking ahead, acting now: Teams and transformation To all Staff, Physicians and Volunteers: Today I’d like to talk about teamwork, the way people work together and how we organize ourselves around the needs of our patients. This work began in earnest last year, and in recent weeks we’ve begun redeploying and rescheduling staff where we feel their experience and skills can make the greatest difference. First, let’s look at the big picture. Alberta’s population has grown by one million people in the last 12 years alone. Our population is also aging, and more people have multiple, complex health needs. That won’t change, which means we have to respond and prepare for the future now. By 2017 we’d need to hire about 35,000 more clinical staff simply to make up for retirements, turnover and growth. There won’t be enough new graduates to fill these positions, and recruitment from other provinces and countries can’t keep pace with demand. That means changing the way we provide care — better collaboration, engaging patients to be members of their health care team and enhancing use of team skills. We’re also changing the way clinical staff are scheduled, with consistent, province-wide scheduling models. More staff are being asked to work full time, but they will also have more predictable shifts and schedules. A pool of relief staff will cover absences or leaves, ensuring a stable supply of caregivers for our patients. For patients, it will be easier to get to know the people responsible for their care. They’ll see familiar faces, build better relationships and feel more comfortable talking about their care with people they can get to know and trust. We’re also creating care teams made up of a better mix of providers, each with unique skills, knowledge and training. The Collaborative Practice Model of Care, as it’s called, will be implemented in September at two medical and two surgical units, one each at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton. Planning is also underway for two units in the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital. This work combines the best practices of two major initiatives: Care Transformation and Path to Home. Once the model is implemented and evaluated, we’ll expand this work to about 80 per cent of medical/surgical units across the province over the next two years. Many of you are being asked to work on different teams or units. In some cases, these changes will mean moving to other positions and possibly other locations. Before that takes place, our collective agreements require us to first formally lay off staff before they can be rehired. Unfortunately this is often incorrectly characterized as reducing the number of staff, which creates anxiety for both staff and patients. In fact, our clinical workforce is growing. In 2012/13, we increased the number of full-time clinical staff by 4.6 per cent, or approximately 2,900 staff. Overall, our nursing workforce has increased by 13 per cent, or more than 3,650, since 2010.We also have to make sure we put staff’s skills to best use. For that reason we have increased the number of AHS nurses working full time to 31 per cent, from 28 per cent last year. Nationally, the rate of nurses working full time is about 59 per cent. The redeployment process is not ideal, but we respect the collective bargaining agreement and process. The main point is that we have jobs available. To date, there have been positions available for all affected staff, and anyone who wants to work with us. For example, there are 375 Registered Nurse, Registered Psychiatric Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse and Health Care Aide positions currently open around the province. At a personal level, even though we have jobs across the health system, we appreciate that change can be stressful. We ask you to be patient. Looking ahead, it’s difficult to estimate the number of staff who will be affected. Every site and unit is different in terms of patient needs and existing staffing complements and rotations. There is no fixed number of redeployments or a master plan or cost-savings target related to rescheduling and transformation. It will unfold as each site or unit looks at patient needs and current skill mixes. Each Zone has different challenges, and will need unique solutions. One size does not fit all. We are committed to sharing information with our staff, unions and other stakeholders as we proceed with planning, implementation and evaluation. This work is urgent, but we’re not rushing into it or setting unrealistic deadlines. We need to ensure we have staff where we need them most, whether it’s at the hospital bedside, a lab, clinic or a patient’s home. Our patients and their families need to trust that this work starts with what they need. And our staff need to have the confidence that someone will be there to care for their patients when they leave for home at the end of each shift or go on a well-earned vacation. We will not, under any circumstances, undermine patient safety. I have confidence in our care providers and that changing team mixes and schedules will improve patient care now and in the years and decades ahead. I’ll provide updates regularly as workforce transformation unfolds and we have more details about the pace and scope of this transformation. Let me leave you with this: We value our employees. These changes are necessary, and ultimately they underscore the importance of your work. As always, I offer all of you my sincere gratitude and appreciation for your work, passion and commitment to our patients. We need you, the health system needs you and Albertans need you. Thanks for all that you do every day. Dr. Chris Eagle President & CEO
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 19:11:28 +0000
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