Will the primary care redesign displace staff?
We’re redesigning Vancouver’s urban primary care services to provide better support to those clients who need them most — clients with mental health and addiction issues, at-risk youth and people with chronic disease.
The redesign will allow us to create a new Primary Care High Needs Stabilization Clinic at the Raven Song Community Health Centre, located at 2450 Ontario Street, and the redesign has raised many questions, some of which we answer here today.
For answers to other questions about our redesign of primary care services, please refer to our article in last week’s issue of VCH News, or the Q & A published on March 27.
We also recommend listening to Dr. Rolando outline our vision for primary care services during the April Vancouver All-Staff Forum. The forum’s recorded webcast (including videos) is available for viewing any one of the following links (Classic Viewer version is compatible with older browsers):
If you have additional questions about primary care — or questions on other matters — we welcome them and encourage you to email us.
Today’s answered questions
Q. Are you closing any inner city clinics?
A. No. Inner city primary care is outside the scope of our urban primary care redesign. And, we also want to note that the redesign of primary care services will not result in the closure of any of our Community Health Centres.
Q. Will people be displaced as a result of the changes to primary care? Will bumping occur?
A. Yes, we regret that jobs will be impacted during this redesign, but we are obligated to reconfigure our services in ways that best meet the needs of our clients — in this case, our most vulnerable and highly complex clients. We have just recently embarked upon the formal union notification process, as required under the Collective Agreement. Person-to-person notification will take place in the coming week. Affected staff may choose to select some of the new positions created at Raven Song or exercise their rights under the Collective Agreement.
We recognize that changes like these can create anxiety for staff and clients alike, but we want you to know that VCH and our urban primary care leadership team are committed to working with employees to support all staff through these changes and to ensure client care remains a priority.
Q. Is the Bridge Clinic moving to Evergreen?
A. As we develop our plan to fully centralize the delivery of enhanced primary care services at Raven Song, and as we look at growth in other services at Raven Song, such as Home Health, we’ll need to consider the location of various services. Many factors remain under consideration and no firm plan has yet been put into place. Given the changes are happening over the next several months, we’re committed to keeping staff informed as our decision-making progresses.