London Health Sciences Centre - Victoria Hospital. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)London Health Sciences Centre - Victoria Hospital. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)
London

LHSC 'parts ways' with 84 unvaccinated employees

Just over 80 employees of the London Health Sciences Centre are being terminated with cause for not complying with the hospital's COVID-19 vaccination policy.

Officials with the LHSC made the announcement Friday, the day that had been set as the deadline for employees to be fully vaccinated. Eight-four employees did not get the shots, and so, will no longer be employed by the hospital. Of the 84 who are losing their jobs, 43 are in clinical roles and 41 are in non-clinical roles. Hospital officials said Friday that 33 are nurses.

The 33 nurses represent less than one per cent of the LHSC's nursing staff.

While officials expressed regret that 84 people are losing their jobs, LHSC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Adam Dukelow maintained the policy will make for a safer hospital.

"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," he said. "So, despite today being a sad day at LHSC, because we've had to say goodbye to some of our important and loved colleagues and team members, our community can now be confident that, when you need LHSC to care for you, you'll be cared for in an even safer environment by a fully vaccinated team."

According to Dukelow, five or fewer doctors lost their privileges at the hospital because of their unwillingness to abide by the vaccination policy.

A statement from the LHSC said that, as of Thursday evening, 98.2% of staff and 99.8% of physicians and residents had been fully vaccinated. In addition, there are 81 employees who are in the process of becoming fully vaccinated. Those employees will be put on unpaid leave, but will be welcomed back once they recieve their second shot.

"I want to ensure the public that the losses that we have are spattered across our organization's various programs and we don't anticipate any impacts to clinical care," said Carol Young-Ritchie, the LHSC's executive vice-president and chief clinical officer.

The LHSC announced at the end of August that it would be requiring its employees to be fully vaccinated.

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