Dr. Heather Cuddy wants to work at Trepassey, but says her proposal from Eastern Health includes “without any negotiations” the concerns she has expressed. (Mark Quinn / CBC)
The town of Trepasi has joined the list of Newfoundland and Labrador communities that lost their only doctor, prompting residents to gather in front of a public clinic on Thursday to protest the loss of a doctor who wanted to stay.
Dr. Heather Cuddy has worked at the clinic for the past three years, including two years without a contract. When the doctor’s job opened, she applied and was offered the job. But Cuddy, who said she fell in love with the community and owned a property there, rejected it, saying Eastern Health’s proposal was inadequate.
“To say I felt devalued would be an understatement,” Cuddy told CBC News on Thursday. “It was very frustrating for me as a doctor, and I’m sure for patients who suddenly feel a little tense and dehydrated with a new provider.”
Trepassey is a spokes in a network in which Holyrood is the central center. Where said the job description includes two days in Trepassey, one day in Ferryland (another speaks) and two days in Holyrood in the virtual care center.
Where she said she wanted access to a corporate vehicle and travel time to be included in her work day, something she said was offered to the clinic’s practicing nurse. She said that the long days and time spent traveling were difficult for her, as she is the mother of three teenagers and, for example, requires being in Trepasi until 8:30 in the morning, which is impossible because she lives 150 kilometers away.
“They were completely denied, without any negotiations. “Even when I was discussing the shared travel option, I didn’t get much acceptance about it,” she said.
She said it didn’t make sense to her because she could drive 30 minutes from her home in Concept Bay South to Holyrood and still be more than two hours away from her patients on the South Coast. Instead, she offered to spend the two days at Holyrood in Trepasi, an idea she said was also rejected.
The last point and one Cuddy said that upset her the most was that there was no negotiation of the retention bonus in rural areas for doctors working in communities far from urban centers – in her case, she said, the bonus should have be $ 7,500 for the first year.
“I didn’t see a problem with that. If I’m serving the city and the people of a Category 1 city, then why don’t I deserve this rural bonus? They flatly refused to consider it and said my address should be considered Holyrood,” Cuddy said. .
“The problem with this is that in the new agreement between the government and [Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association]In fact, Holyrood is no longer eligible for the rural bonus. “
Trepasi residents gathered on Thursday to ask Eastern Health to reconsider its proposal to Cuddy. (Mark Quinn / CBC)
Trepasi Mayor Rita Penel said on Thursday that Cuddy’s situation is difficult to understand.
She said its residents, most of whom are elderly, are really upset.
“Without a doctor, we only have one ambulance and we’re two hours away from the hospital,” Penel said. “It’s really, really sad.”
Residents gathered on Thursday morning, angry at Eastern Health for failing to reach an agreement with Cuddy. Penel said the community wants Eastern Health to reconsider its proposal.
“The distance to medical care must be taken into account, as well as work so far from support,” Penel said.
Continue dialing
Melissa Koish, regional director of Eastern Health’s primary health care and chronic disease management and prevention, said she could not comment on the individual negotiations, but said Cuddy and Penel’s understanding of the situation was “unpleasant to hear”.
Coish said the position was published as a center in Holyrood with spokes in St. Mary’s, Ferryland and Trepassey. She said the location of the center in Holyrood would mean a full team for the doctor.
She said there were about 400 residents in Trepassie and Fairland.
“The expectation would be, we as a health authority must meet the care of the people in the region and increase access to the region. If your center is in Holyrood and you have an embraced team, then you absolutely expect patients to be monitored there as well as providing [care] in Trepasi and Fairland, “Koish said.
“When we worked with the department around the center and talked, we involved all the team members in terms of understanding what we were going to publish.”
Koish said the salary is negotiated through the NLMA and the Ministry of Health, with compensation and retention bonuses dictated by the association’s agreement with the provincial government.
As for the benefits provided to practicing nurses, Coish said it was a separate agreement with the Union of Registered Nurses.
“The clauses are different, so that would dictate some of those differences,” she said.
Recruitment will continue, Koish said.
“We had hoped and would continue to recruit a doctor to provide services on certain days of the week in Trepasi and Fairland, and we hope to get there.”
She said health authorities also want to introduce short-term delicacies until a full-time doctor is hired.
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
Add Comment