Lack of staff for ultrasounds, means wait times are about one year long in some cases, at one of Halifax’s main hospitals.
According to the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU), 90 per cent of patients at the QEII are waiting 364 days for their appointment.
President Sanda Mullens tells our newsroom they’ve been raising the alarm bells for a while.
“With the ultrasonographers…they see the schedule and they look and hear we have 18 machines with Dartmouth, Halifax and Bayers Lake. There are five and a half positions filled today to run 18 machines. That doesn’t work.”
Mullens adds that ultrasonographers have a lot of pressure on them to serve as many patients a day as possible, in a very physically demanding job.
“Instead of the 12-13 on average, that is reasonable… you know, in a 12-hour shift you can imagine… and they are having to do upwards of 19…that still isn’t even addressing the backlog that exists.”
When it comes to staffing shortages, Mullens says it is a desperate situation not only in the Atlantic provinces, but across the country.
More pay needed
Money speaks with a “loud and booming voice”, according to Mullens.
She says because of this, new grads in Nova Scotia, will likely go elsewhere to make a bigger paycheck.
When it comes to wages, she adds that the “big thing” to address is how to provide a salary that is competitive with the rest of Atlantic Canada.
Currently, Nova Scotian ultrasound techs start at $34 an hour, and top out at $40-the lowest pay rates in Atlantic Canada.
The NSGEU says, it can lead to a difference of up to $9 in hourly rates.
Bargaining
The province has significantly improved healthcare, like reducing the surgical waitlist and providing more accessible appointments, according to Health Minister Michelle Thompson.
But, she says, there is more to do.
When it comes to bargaining with the NSGEU, she says a number of things need to be discussed but that happens at the table.
“I know that folks are in conversations now. It really is through the bargaining process that we make sure that it’s not just the money, but there are other things…right around quality of work life.”
Thompson says they have shown in the past they were able to negotiate successfully physicians, paramedics and nurses and she is confident in the process.
NSGEU represents close to 4,000 healthcare professionals in Nova Scotia.
Conciliation continues next Thursday.
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