LHSC losing 84 employees as vaccine mandate takes effect

Middlesex Centre, Ont. -

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.