Brockville Mental Health Centre
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...excerpts and links were taken from OPSEU Central: http://www.opseu.org/bps/health/mental/index.htm
Royal Ottawa announced in June that the Brockville
Mental Health Centre (BMHC) will close its transitional
care unit by March 2011, taking the equivalent of
136.5 full-time jobs out of the community. OPSEU
argues the actual number of people left jobless will
be much higher. Last week, OPSEU president Warren (Smokey)
Thomas accused Royal Ottawa of ignoring its
obligations to workers facing the loss of their jobs by
not setting up a human resources labour adjustment
plan.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)
has filed an application under the Public Sector
Labour Relations Transition Act (PSLRTA). If the
application is successful, skilled professionals
currently working at the BMHC would be allowed to
follow their work when programs move to Ottawa on
March 31, 2011.
Weber, Royal Ottawa's CEO, last week said applying
the labour adjustment plan to this situation is "a little
bit of apples and oranges being mixed up,”.
Cal Crocker, Royal Ottawa's acting CEO in Weber's
absence, said the labour adjustment plan applies to
cases in which entire services are transferred from
one institution to another.
Such is the case with the BMHC's transfer of the
Elmgrove Unit to Brockville General Hospital , noted
Crocker, and there is a labour adjustment plan in
that case.
But the template does not apply for the transitional
care beds, said Crocker.
In that case, he said, patients are moving not to a
single institution, but to a wide variety of places,
including the community.
The Tier 3 Divestment Final Report, at the link
below, suggests that:
The objectives of Tier 3 divestment are to preserve
existing capacity and build new capacity in the
mental health care system. For programs under
negotiation for transfer to community agencies, this
principle suggests that staff in sending organizations
be encouraged to follow their work whenever
possible, while also being apprised of their options
with respect to transfer (e.g., reassignment,
severance, early retirement,etc.). Program transfers
would maintain program staff and preserve continuity
of care and service.
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/providers/program/
mentalhealth/mohtier3/tier3_pab/tier3_planning_
principles.pdf
It would seem that in Brockville they are trying to get
around the principle of staff following their work.
Submitted by
Michael Greaves, Steward
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