From: Kim Delahunt, Interim President and CEO
Date: Oct. 22, 2019
We wanted to clarify that no staff members at Headwaters have received lay-off notices.
We believe the source of these concerns is in relation to a new centralized model for registration we have been working on and planning for over a year. This new centralized registration model will align staff based on workload with a focus on patient experience.
We notified the Ontario Public Service Employees Union clerical local 227 about our proposed changes to the registration model in November 2018.
In the spring, 2019, in alignment with the collective agreement, we struck a Staff Planning Committee. Since then we have been meeting regularly together with OPSEU clerical to work through details. We have had open discussions with them about all our options and have had productive conversations about our potential changes.
Our new centralized registration model will standardize our booking and registration processes, along with the cross-training of registration clerks in all types of registrations and bookings, will result in an improved patient experience, increased efficiency within the department, and improve the availability of fully trained staff.
We did not issue any layoff notices. In keeping with respective collective agreements and to mitigate any implications on staff, through early retirement packages and voluntary exit options we reduced three full time, five part time and one vacant position as part of this new model. All impacted employees were involved in reviewing the current and future job processes, which contributed to our current plan and decisions.
Staff will be working in this new centralized registration model as of January 2020. They picked their new assignments through a collaborative selection process. Staff are being cross trained to ensure all staff receive consistent and standard training in all areas, well in advance of the centralized location of registration and booking staff.
Our new centralized registration model is focused on ensuring quality of care and that everything we do is clearly about serving the needs of our patients in the most effective, efficient ways possible.