That’s how one employee posed the question of potential displacements to us. It is a question we receive often. It’s also one of the most difficult questions for us to answer because we recognize that we’re talking about more than jobs. We’re talking about professionals and your concern for your clients and patients, and we’re talking about your livelihood, and how you support your family. But, what makes this question even more difficult to answer is that there are limits to what we can say. Today, we’ll do our best to explain why.

For past Q & As, refer to our November 21 article and previously published submissions to VCH News-Vancouver.

If you have a question you’d still like to ask, email us.

Today’s answered question

Q. Will there be more displacements and, if so, where and when?

A. As Mary Ackenhusen put it so well atVancouver’s All-Staff Forum (ASF), we wish we could say there will be no more displacements, but we can’t. In Vancouver, we continue to look for opportunities to better align our services with patient needs in both the acute and community sectors. Unfortunately, we can’t provide further details at this time, and we want to explain why.

Our system has a number of checks and balances built into it to ensure service delivery changes are thoroughly reviewed and assessed before they’re implemented – and this is a good thing. It ensures clients’ and patients’ best interests remain at the centre of all decisions, and it ensures the problem and solution are examined from every possible angle. Before any plans are considered final we require approval from Vancouver Coastal Health’s Senior Executive Team and, in some cases, we also have a duty to consult the Ministry of Health.

Another reason we can’t always share details is that we are bound to honour our collective agreement and, specifically, section 54 on the displacement notice process. Timelines for consultation with affected unions must be met before we can inform affected employees. When – and only when – we’ve fulfilled all these responsibilities can we share details about displacements. And, when we can share, our first priority is to inform those immediately affected.

We recognize that it’s difficult to live with uncertainty, and so we want you to know that it’s our hope that staff displaced will find positions elsewhere in our organization. Employee Engagement, VCH’s Human Resources department, works hard to provide employees with opportunities for placement into vacancies and bumping options according to their union contracts. We don’t want to lose skilled and experienced employees, so we’re making every effort to find displaced employees an alternative position, and in some cases offering additional training.         

While we’re unable to provide specifics about potential displacements today, we hope that we’ve provided some insight into the complexities and limitations behind answering this important question.