MAHCP has been in ongoing discussions with Employer representatives and other health care unions regarding the issue of limiting health care providers to operating in only one licensed personal care home (PCH) in order to limit the risk of spreading COVID-19 to vulnerable PCH residents.
The new government policy limiting employee movement between PCH sites was officially announced by Shared Health officials earlier this week and is due to take effect this Friday, May 1, 2020.
MAHCP has been awaiting details on which, if any, Allied Health staff may be affected by this new policy. Today we received a copy of the new public health order, click here for your review, that will govern the policy.
The order confirms that most Allied Health staff are exempted from the policy. In other words, most MAHCP members should not be limited to one PCH site. The exceptions for specific Allied Health professions are listed on page four of the attached order and are as follows:
- Dietitians;
- Laboratory Technicians [outdated term, but we assume this applies to MLTs and MLAs];
- Paramedics;
- Pharmacists;
- Other health professionals who visit personal care homes to provide health care services, such as Physiotherapists and Occupation Therapists;
- Social Workers;
- Chaplains and Spiritual Care Providers.
If you expect you will need to work in more than one PCH and you are not included in this list, please ask your manager for clarification. If you believe you are being limited to one PCH site in error, please request clarification from your manager.
If any questions remain, please feel free to contact your Labour Relations Officer for assistance.
Your MAHCP Team
