Statement on the ongoing demonstration in Ottawa’s downtown core
02/10/2022
As the situation progresses with the ongoing demonstration in Ottawa’s downtown core, our teams are monitoring the situation closely and working collaboratively with the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Police and the regional emergency response group. We are taking all the necessary steps to ensure that there are no disruptions that would impact patient or resident care at our sites.
Our specialized hospitals and one of our long-term care homes are located in the downtown core. We are very familiar with protests and events but we haven’t experienced something this prolonged and uncertain before. This was an added stress that our teams, almost two years into a pandemic, did not need.
This has affected patient access at our family health clinics, also located in the downtown core. Patients, some of whom had waited for in-person appointments for weeks were too scared to visit in the initial days. Many appointments were delayed and rescheduled. We are concerned that patients, many of whom represent minorities and already experiencing barriers to care, may continue to delay appointments. Health care access should never be compromised.
With the ongoing demonstrations, commutes for our staff have gotten longer. Team members have reported commutes growing from 15 mins to 2 hours on some days. This was on top of extended days as they filled in for colleagues who were late because of traffic delays. Staff have reported being harassed and yelled at on their way into work for wearing masks. They also report not feeling safe returning home at night. The longer days, uncertainty and intimidation are all added stressors for health care workers caring for the most vulnerable members in our community.
The challenges haven’t stopped and neither do our team members – we’re so grateful for their continued dedication to their patients, residents and one another. We want to thank our community for the support we have received and all of the encouraging messages shared for our teams on social media.
Our campuses are safe places to be and we want to ensure our staff feel safe. We have brought on additional security and made additional supports available to our staff. We encourage any team member who is having difficulty still getting to work to connect with their manager to discuss the available supports.