Wiseman Out as Health Minister
vocm news:

The province turns over a new leaf in health care today as Premier Danny Williams switches a pair of cabinet postings. The cabinet shuffle comes as Eastern Health prepares to release final numbers on ER/PR testing....

The embattled Ross Wiseman goes from health to business while Paul Oram goes from business to health. Wiseman faced controversy during his time as health minister, particularly over the handling of the ER/PR testing problems at Eastern Health. Many critics called for his removal much sooner. Premier Danny Williams maintains that he would have wanted nobody else in the health portofolio during the difficult period.

ABOUT FRIGGIN TIME!

DEJA BULL ROSS!

VOCM
Home Care Workers Concerns Being Addressed; Wiseman
June 28, 2009

The province's Health Minister, Ross Wiseman, says NAPE's concerns about progress in home care in the province are being addressed by the government. NAPE President Carol Furlong, at their Annual General Meeting this week, says they are waiting for government action on the report submitted last year. Wiseman says the province was moving on home care issues prior to that and have made significant investments in that sector. He says they increased capacity and investments in adjusting assessments for those using home care and also salary adjustments for workers, including one in July and another in 2010. Minister Wiseman says the notion that government's focus is only on the petroleum industry at the expense of other areas, such as home care, is not an accurate one. Wiseman says nothing could be further from the truth. In the last several budgets the government has made significant investments in home care and the care of seniors.

* I would like to know why the increase was not retroactive to April 1st.2009?

Wiseman is only applying Band- Aid solutions to Home Care.Wiseman,like previous Health Ministers just cannot grasp what Home Care does for this Province.

The Telegram: January 22-2009

Raise salaries for home care workers, NAPE demands


The province has to start showing more respect for home-care workers and take action to increase salaries, says Carol Furlong, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE).
Otherwise, she said, the home care industry could collapse because of a shortage of workers.
“The minister announced late last year that a government report on home care would be released in the fall and months later it still isn’t ready. This is unacceptable,” Furlong said.
The report was to have dealt with, among other things, salaries and benefits for home care workers, Furlong explained.
In the absence of the report, Furlong added, the government should maintain the differential in the minimum wage back to Jan. 1, when the minimum wage was increased.
“That increase was promised but has yet to be aid out to home-care workers,” she said.

The sky is falling!

Lower oil prices could mean deficit: Williams

From CBC:

Newfoundland and Labrador has just become a have province when it comes to equalization payments, but Premier Danny Williams warned Thursday that dropping oil prices could send the province into a deficit again.

The province's coffers were filling up due to record high prices for oil this summer. However, the price has dropped to less than $60 US per barrel in the last week.

"A word of caution is that if oil stays down around those numbers, then it's quite conceivable that we could run deficits," Williams said.

Will Mr. Premier,a lot of people gave you praise when the coffers where filling and i noticed you loved to take credit so hopefully you'll not get upset if some now give you a bit of flak. For some of us in NL the fall in oil prices is actually a blessing. This morning i filled my car at 97.5 per litre. A while back it cost over $1.50 per Litre and that hurt me as a Home Care Worker who averages 90-100 kilometers per day. I figure this break at the pumps is much better for Home Care Workers than anything we can expect from your government in the form of a pay increase or benefits that never seems to come despite all the trickling down effects we hear about. I sure like the sound at the pumps much better then the sound of whining about a deficit.

Can't compete with McDonald's for home-care workers, employers say

CBC NEWS

Newfoundland and Labrador home-care workers can do something simple to earn more than the wages that industry leaders call an embarrassment: flip hamburgers.

Home-care workers paid by the provincial government earn only $9.66 an hour — without benefits, and despite years of experience.

An informal review by CBC News found that the salaries for the workers, some of whom are responsible for keeping their clients alive by tending to daily needs, pale compared to unskilled jobs.

For instance, some workers at St. John's-area McDonald's restaurants — which have been recruiting heavily and have been promoting a roster of benefits to lure people to fill staffing shortages — earn more than $10 per hour.

Entry-level security guards make $9.50 per hour, while call-centre employees start at $9.25.

"It is really time — it's completely time — for an overhaul of the home-care system," said Anne Whelan, who manages Caregivers, a home-care agency in the St. John's area.

Agency owner Anne Whelan said it's time to overhaul the system. (CBC)

While Whelan is responsible for recruiting staff, her pay rates are dictated by what the Newfoundland and Labrador government is prepared to spend.

"What would be a reasonable wage for a skilled home support worker doing the scope of work that we regularly get asked to do? It would be much more comparable to a [personal care attendant] in a hospital, $14 or $15 an hour," she told CBC News.

Home-care agencies continually lose workers, who often can earn better pay — for work that is much less stressful — at fast food outlets, call centres and other businesses.

The provincial government increased spending in this spring's budget, but advocates say it has done little address a growing need.

Price to be paid?

Carol Furlong, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Private Employees, said unless there are substantial changes, a higher price will have to be paid than higher wages.

"We have a very serious concern that because of the low compensation package they're going to find that there's not going to be anyone to do those jobs," said Furlong, adding she is also concerned that most home-care workers are women.

"We shudder to think that it is because of the gender issue that the wages are so low, but that is the reality of the situation, as far as we're concerned," Furlong said in an interview.

Health Minister Ross Wiseman has said a review of the home-care system should be released this fall.

That surprised Whelan, who said providers "really need to be consulted" before any decisions are made.

Maybe it's time for someone such as NAPE to organize a province wide walkout of Home Care workers or a large demonstration?

Disabled man unable to find sufficient home care

A Newfoundland man who needs around the clock home care is calling on the provincial government to overhaul the system, as he relies on unpaid overtime help from a care worker to meet his needs.

William Burke, 43, lives in Makinsons, outside St. John's, and had qualified under government assessment for three home-care workers to give him the 24-hour care he needs. However, he has been unable to find a third worker, leaving a longtime caregiver working hours of unpaid overtime.

"I need 100 per cent care, from getting up in the morning to going to bed at night. Everything needs to be done, be it bath, shave, change my clothes, taking me to the washroom, everything," Burke said. "Well it puts me in a dire situation … where I'm supposed to have three workers, the responsibility falls on the other two workers and it makes it more stressful for me."

Burke has Werdnig-Hoffman disease, a rare form of muscular dystrophy, and he weighs just 42 pounds.MORE CLICK HERE.

When will this all end?

Now, i'm not sure of the accuracy on this one but here's my Math. If i'm wrong please step in and tell me.
Yesterday on CBC's Here & Now we saw yet another story on Home Care in NL and like the rest it was about injustice. Angie Clarke, a single mom with two daughters,age 3 and 8 has cerebral palsy and needs home care to bring a decent life to her children. Ms. Clarke had been receiving 56 hours per week. Recently home care workers received a raise of .50 per hour bringing their total to $9.29 per hour. This would of cost $28 more per week on the system. Those in charge decided not only to cut back but do so and actually make it look like a profit. Ms. Clarke's hours have been cut from 56 to 44. So if i'm wrong on my Math,please correct me. I will appreciate it.

At 56 hours per week it would of cost $520.24 with the raise.
cutting back to 44 hours the cost is now $408.76
that's a savings of $111.48 but minus the $28.00 increase with the raise it would be $83.48 ????

Did Ross make a profit on the suffering of this poor lady and her home support worker or not?

A story by Natalie Musseau, taken from The Gulf News about the Home Care crisis in our area.

Hardy fears looming home care worker shortage
Low pay, high demand

NATALIE MUSSEAU
The Gulf News

Tears roll down Goldie Hardy's face as she pauses to find a voice for her fears.

She's scared that she will be forced to give up caring for two autistic men she considers part of her family because of the low wages given to home care workers.

Two of the four workers that help the Port aux Basques resident have told her they are looking elsewhere for work. Mrs. Hardy says that's because they simply can't make enough to live on the wage they are earning - under $9 per hour.

Her workers, like many others, are funded by the provincial Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment.

"It's not all about the money," said Mrs. Hardy, adding that all of her workers would have left for high-paying jobs on the mainland years ago if that was the case. More on the story ..Click here.