Health workers’ strike on - and off - in hours

BY JENNIFER HOEGG

Kings County Register

Half of Annapolis Valley Health’s employees walked off the job Monday morning - only to walk back on again two hours later.

The health district’s 836 Canadian Union of Public Employees hit the picket lines at 6 a.m., but were back to work at 8:15 a.m. CUPE and provincial negotiators reached a tentative deal at 7:30 a.m. after a weekend of negotiations.

The main issue was wage parity between CUPE members outside and inside the Halifax Regional Municipality.

AVH spokeswoman Tamara Gilley says the strike affected approximately half of the district’s staff.

Once the short strike was over, AVH began bringing its services back online. “We’re getting back to speed very quickly,” chief executive officer Janet Knox said Monday. “We’re very proud of our management and staff and our physicians and volunteers.”

Only emergency services were available Monday morning: walk-in clinics in Wolfville and Berwick, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, non-emergency inpatient and day surgery, lab testing, blood collection, X-rays, ultrasounds and detox services remained closed.

By noon, the outpatient clinic at Berwick’s Western Kings Memorial Health Centre and the Detox Unit at Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital were open.

Emergency services at Annapolis Community Health Centre and the walk-in clinic at Eastern Kings Memorial Community Health Centre reopened Monday evening. Blood collection and X-ray services resumed Tuesday morning, and elective surgeries were back on track for Wednesday.

Knox wants the 76 patients whose elective surgeries were cancelled to know rescheduling is underway. “Our goal is to rebook them as soon as possible,” she said, but the time required “will depend on how many emergency surgeries there are. “We regret any stress this has caused,” Knox added, “and we will ensure that the postponed services are rescheduled as soon as possible.”