(Lethbridge News Now)

By Curtis Galbraith

1,650 AHS staff on unpaid leave due to vaccination status

Dec 16, 2021 | 11:27 AM

Alberta Health Services says a local breakdown of numbers of how many staff are now on unpaid leave because they are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 is not available.

AHS does outline in a statement that 1,650 full and part-time staff across the province are now on unpaid leave and could return to work if they decide to become fully vaccinated. Another 175 staff at 19 locations, plus nine EMS locations, are eligible for a testing option.

The unpaid leaves will be reviewed in March.

The statement goes on the say that 97 per cent of full-time and part-time workers, as well as 99.7 per cent of physicians, are fully vaccinated.

The healthcare agency claims that there will be no reductions or delays in surgeries or other medical procedures as a result.

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The entire statement is as follows:

AHS Statement:

Alberta Health Services (AHS) has implemented its Immunization of Workers for COVID-19 policy, with the vast majority of physicians and health care workers now fully immunized against COVID-19.

There will be no reductions or delays in surgeries or other procedures at any site, no impact on access to emergency care, and no reductions in available acute care beds as a result of the immunization policy. Contingency plans are in place as needed to ensure continuous service, including assigning additional staff.

The policy will help us protect those in our care, as well as those providing care, treatment and support to Albertans. We are extremely grateful for the 97 per cent of full-time and part-time staff and 99.7 per cent of physicians who have become fully immunized to date.

As per the policy, approximately 1,650 full- and part-time AHS staff who are not fully immunized have been placed on unpaid leave. They will be able to return to work if they provide proof of full immunization.

With the introduction of temporary, targeted COVID-19 testing at 19 work locations and nine EMS locations province-wide, 175 AHS staff are eligible for the testing option.

Due to the small number of eligible staff, AHS cannot disclose those work locations publicly due to the risk of disclosing individual immunization information, which we cannot do due to privacy rules.

It is important to note that an affected work location is only the area of a site where there was a risk of a service disruption, not the entire site. These numbers will continue to fluctuate as additional mitigation strategies are put into place.

A handful of employees who are eligible for temporary testing have turned that option down, and they will now be placed on unpaid leave. All unpaid leaves will be reviewed with the policy at the end of March 2022.

If an employee who is on unpaid leave decides to become fully immunized they can notify AHS and return to their role at any time.

We strive for a fully immunized active workforce as it is crucial that our patients know they are coming into an environment where those who care for them are doing everything they can to protect them, including getting immunized.

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