aahp continues to question nl government’s commitment to healthcare.
Press Release
For Immediate Release
July 10, 2024
AAHP Continues to Question NL Government’s Commitment to Healthcare
St. John’s, NL – The Association of Allied Health Professionals (AAHP), which represents more than 800 healthcare professionals in the province, is extremely disappointed in the provincial government’s decision to choose an interim Minister of Health.
“The fact that the government did not see the importance of having a Minister ready to take on the healthcare portfolio in a full time and dedicated capacity is shocking and leads us to wonder how they can claim healthcare is a top priority,” says Gord Piercey, President of AAHP. “To place the entire healthcare department on the corner of a desk for the Minister already acting as Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Public Safety seems irresponsible and is sending a disheartening message to our members who already feel undervalued.”
Former Minister of Health and Community Services, Tom Osborne, publicly announced his retirement on May 24th, 2024.
“There was enough time for strategic consideration to be applied here, and time to appoint a Minister to truly lead an incredibly vital portfolio at a critical time for healthcare,” adds Piercey. “It feels like a last-minute decision that was announced with little understanding or consideration for how it would be perceived. To us it’s just another example of how little effort is going into stabilizing healthcare in this province.”
The AAHP is calling on government to indicate why a Minister of Health was not ready to step into the role permanently once Minister Osborne retired, and when there will be someone in the position full time.
“The system our members are trying to navigate and work in is already strained and in crisis, so having an interim leader/decisionmaker is not acceptable, especially knowing there was time to avoid this situation entirely. We need to feel confident that our government is committed to prioritizing healthcare and those working so hard to sustain it, and right now we don’t,” concludes Piercey.
AAHP is hoping to meet with Minister Hogan in the coming weeks to ensure he is well aware of its membership and the value they bring to the system, details around the contract that was recently ratified and what challenges and issues they believe are significant for allied health workers in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The AAHP is a public sector bargaining unit representing more than 800 highly skilled health professionals who collectively provide a range of preventative, diagnostic, technical and therapeutic healthcare and clinical support services across the lifespan and care continuum and in virtually all program areas within the health care system. AAHP’s Membership represent over 24 different health care disciplines comprised mainly of regulated, community, clinical and therapeutic professions. Members of the allied health workforce deliver, support, or inform direct patient care and have completed occupation-specific post-secondary education or training.
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