FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 28, 2005
Medical Laboratory Week: Action needed now to recruit, retain medical laboratory technologists
TORONTO: Immediate action is needed now in order to recruit and retain medical laboratory technologists, says the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
The union, representing more than 13,000 hospital professionals, including thousands of technologists, says pending retirements and lack of trained graduates are stressing the system at both ends. During National Medical Laboratory Week (April 24-30) the union outlines some of the challenges facing the third largest
health profession.
"Higher wages, better benefits, and more attractive working conditions are the key," said Leah Casselman, President of OPSEU. "What is true for the doctors is just as true for these essential members of the health care team."
The government recently signed a contract awarding doctors an average of approximately 6 per cent per year.
"Without these medical laboratory professionals, from whose work doctors derive 85 per cent of diagnosis and treatment decisions, doctors in many cases would only be guessing. Yet hospitals and our health system are failing to address attraction and retention in a real way," Casselman said.
Patty Rout, Chair of OPSEU's Hospital Professionals Division, said lab technologists are our society's protection against new infectious diseases. "As we saw during SARS, we are an essential part of the team," she said.
Rout noted that an onerous workload, workplace stress and out-of-control overtime are the inevitable result of the serious personnel shortages in hospital labs. "The system is already at the breaking point," she said. "How will we cope with another crisis unless the government takes action now?"
OPSEU's negotiations with the Ontario Hospital Association for the central contract affecting medical laboratory technologists at 40 Ontario hospitals has reached a deadlock and is proceeding to binding arbitration in May.
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For information:
Patty Rout, Chair, Hospital Professionals Division 905-429-7529
David Cox, OPSEU Communications: 1-800-268-7376 x 8314
