North Coast Review: Prince Rupert Regional Hospital

Showing posts with label Prince Rupert Regional Hospital. Show all posts

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Renovations to CT Scanner suite now complete at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital

A million dollar project to renovate the CT Scanner Suite at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital has come to an end, with Northern Health announcing the successful completion of the project last week.

“The renovations allow the CT Scanner to be placed back on the main floor of the hospital along with the emergency department and most of medical imaging department. This creates easier access for patients," -- Penny Anguish, Northwest Chief Operating Officer for Northern Health.

The project was taken on by Kelowna's Vector Projects, funding for the much anticipated project was provided by the Province of B.C., North West Regional Hospital District, and Northern Health.

Vector has taken on a number of Health Care facility projects across the region in recent months, among them work at the Kitimat Hospital, Queen Charlotte health Clinic and Metlakatla Health Station.

You can review some of the background on the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital project from this item from the blog from back in October of 2013.

Continued access to CT Scanning machinery was considered a key aspect of health delivery services in the region.

With concern expressed in recent years over the prospect of North Coast residents having to travel inland during winter months should the service not be available at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital.

A situation that has been addressed with the completion of the million dollar project.

You can review more background on the project from this news release from Northern Health.

For more on developments with Northern Health see our archive page.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Labour Relations Board issues Decision on Maintenance issues at PRRH

With a lengthy schedule of hearings complete and the Vice Chair having contemplated all of the presentations provided since January, the Labour Board of British Columbia has issued its decision on a long running labour dispute at the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital.

The decision, No. B233/2012 has found in favour of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local No. 882 in their filing against the Northern Healthy Authority and Prince Rupert Regional Hospital.

The Nature of the Union's application to the Labour Board was that the Employer was motivated by anti-Union animus when it decided to decommission the high pressure steam boiler at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital and replace it with an electric system

In making the decision, the Labour Relations Board concluded that The Union's complaints under Sections 6 (1), 6 (3) (a), 6 (3)(d) and 54 of the Code succeed.

Further advising that the Board will be in touch regarding a process for the appropriate remedies.

The hearings into the dispute took place from January 16-20, June 1st and 6th, August 1st and September 5, 12, and 20th.

Issued on October 31st, the LRB Panel's Vice-Chair Ritu Mahil provided a nineteen page report/decision covering the scope of the dispute in the maintenance department from the start of the process, to the decision released at the end of October.

It offers up some fascinating background into the dispute in question and the process involved in reviewing it. Providing a glimpse into the various negotiations and behind the scenes back and forth that most of us have no knowledge of in these heated labour relations matters.

The Analysis and Decision section (pages 13-19) of the report offers up a helpful review of the sections of the Labour Code that were in dispute, with the report issuing some strongly worded admonitions to the Employer over the handling of the issue at hand.

With 30 plus grievances in play in this one department before and during the scope of the issue under review, the impression of a less than harmonious relationship between union and management during the time of the issue seems to jump out at us from the reading of the report.

It will be with interest to hear further details of the review and what those appropriate remedies may be to bring to an end the nature of the dispute, one that seems to have occupied a lot of time for Northern Health management over the last year.

You can review the entire document from the Labour Relations Board website.

We also have an archive of other Labour related items of note in our North Coast Review Backgrounders section

Update: Local media items on the ruling

The Northern View offered up this review of events, posted to their website on November 5, 2012.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Northern Health examining its options on CT scanner situation at PRRH

With a potential bill of anywhere between 350,000 dollars and 1 million dollars, Northern Health is currently trying to determine what to do about Prince Rupert Regional Hospital's shut down CT Scanner.

The unit which has been out of service at the Hospital over the last few months is proving to be problematic for Northern Health, not only in its operational status at over eight years of age in question, but its actual location inside the hospital has apparently provided for a number of issues as well.

Two points that Northern Health is looking over as they try to determine the best course of action.

As Northern Health weighs its options and puts together its plan of replacement, local health care users will be required to travel to Terrace or beyond for any CT scanner requirements.

That makes for a situation that local residents no doubt hope is rectified sooner rather than later as the winter months arrive making travel across the North West more difficult than during the spring and summer seasons.

The Northern View-- Hospital needs to replace broken CT scanner
CFTK TV 7-- Rupert CT Scanner needs replacement