LHSC losing 84 employees as vaccine mandate takes effect
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) says more than 99 per cent of staff and physicians are fully vaccinated, but 84 employees are being let go due to the mandatory vaccination policy.
LHSC Executive Vice-President Carol Young-Ritchie says, “These terminations are with cause. We put a policy in place, and our policy is fully enacted today. And for non-compliance with the policy we are terminating people with cause.”
In total, 99.8 per cent of physicians and 98.2 per cent of staff and are fully vaccinated, while an additional 81 staff are in the process of getting vaccinated, so the overall total is expected to land at 99.2 per cent.
Of the 43 clinical staff being dismissed, there are 33 nurses (16 full-time, 13 part-time, two job share and two casual) and fewer than five physicians who will lose privileges. An additional 41 non-clinical employees are being dismissed. The physicians are not included in the 84 people being let go.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Adam Dukelow said while it is a sad day at LHSC, the community can now be cared for in an even safer environment.
"Having over 99 per cent of our staff and physicians vaccinated will decrease our susceptibility to outbreaks, help avoid service interruptions, ensure we're able to care for as many patients as possible as we continue on the road to recovery from COVID-19."
LHSC has 9,148 staff in total, including around 4,000 nurses.
The losses are not expected to have a major impact, as officials say they are spread out across the organization and job types.
“This is a small number, when representative of our entire staff, and we do have some shortages to start with, but we’re not anticipating any impacts to services,” says Young-Ritchie.
A mandatory vaccination policy for hospital visitors is expected to be released next week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.