Health officials prep for possible mail strike
'Our patients will get their medicine,' says CEO of Dehcho Health Authority
Joseph Tunney
Northern News Services
Thursday, July 14, 2016
DEH CHO
While it's unclear whether Canada Post will strike, the CEO for Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority said her organization has a plans ensure ensuring remote communities will get prescriptions filled.
As of press time, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has not declared a strike and, as of July 11, Canada Post had withdrawn its threat to lock the workers out. - Joseph Tunney/NNSL photo
|
"We notified all of our patients that in event of a strike we sent all of our prescriptions to the health centres and patients could pick them up there," Georgina Veldhorst said.
As of July 11, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers released a statement saying both the union and Canada Post officials are working "long hours to reach (the) goal" of a new collective agreement.
"We have no plans to issue a 72-hour notice," the release read.
Canada Post has also withdrawn its threat to lock the workers out.
However, as of press time, no finalized deal has been struck.
Veldhorst said for some of her clients getting prescriptions in the mail is easier than picking them up at the health centres.
However, according to her, for others, the opposite may be true.
For that reason, although her organization will begin mailing the prescriptions again if Canada Post does not strike, she is also thinking about allowing people to continue going to the health centres to get their medicine.
"(But) for people who would benefit from picking it up at the health centres we will continue that endeavour," she said. "And in fact we were already doing that before the threat of the strike."
Previously, people would come to the health centre to get prescriptions if they were hard to contact or had difficulties reading and needed guidance.
She said how everybody gets their prescriptions differs from community to community.
The Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority serves Fort Simpson, Fort Providence, Fort Liard, as well as the smaller communities like Wrigley, Jean Marie River, Sambaa K'e and Nahanni Butte.
She said in Sambaa K'e, formerly known as Trout Lake, there is a health cabin that is staffed like a health centre and people can pick up medicine.
She said setting up the system before the strike has saved her and her organization a potential headache.
"By doing it advance we could communicate with everybody, we could put notices up we could hand out notices to patients when they came in the health centres," she said.
"Our patients will get their medicine."
