AHS defends hiring practices, denies policy puts freeze in effect

Alberta Health Services (AHS) says changes to its hiring policy that require senior approval to take on new staff do not constitute a hiring freeze, an assertion challenged by the union that represents thousands of health-care workers.

In a policy change contained in a Feb. 20 memo to the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), AHS indicated that any hiring of new management or non-clinical staff will have to first receive approval from its CEO, while hiring of front line workers would require sign-off from a senior operating officer (SOO).

AHS president and CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos told reporters Thursday that the moves were necessary to keep costs in line as AHS faces an operating deficit in the current fiscal year due to “additional clinical staffing costs.”

She claimed there will be no impact on front line clinical healthcare workers as a result of the changes. “I cannot stress enough that we are still actively recruiting and hiring front line health-care positions,” she said.

Despite multiple questions from reporters, she declined to provide an estimate on the size of the operating deficit at AHS.

“Right now, it's a forecast, so I won't have an answer to that until the fiscal year is complete.”

Mentzelopoulos disputed equating the changes to a hiring freeze, describing doing so as “inaccurate” and “mischaracterized,” and claimed to have approved 255 hires since the email was sent to HSAA.

Health Minister Adriana Lagrange echoed that messaging in a social media post, citing a need to “clarify a recent decision by AHS regarding hiring procedures.”

The HSAA said that doesn't align with what it heard from some of its nearly 30,000 members, with union vice-president Leanne Alfaro saying she's heard of recruiting for front line positions being cancelled as far along as the interview stage.

“It is very confusing to learn there is a need for restrictions on hiring to manage a budget deficit, hear that hiring is being cancelled, and then be told from the CEO that they are still actively hiring,” she stated in an email Friday to Postmedia.

“It does not make any sense to say you need to find cost savings on hiring and you are creating a process to increase the ability to deny recruitment but are also not limiting hiring. If they were not looking to limit the hiring of front line workers, we would not have received this memo.”

Opposition health critic Luanne Metz described the health-care system as being in a state of chaos due to understaffing.

“I am very worried about the safety of patients who are already in hospital. What are hospitals going to do when they don't have enough staff to take care of patients on already crowded wards?”

Mentzelopoulos was named president and CEO of AHS on Dec. 7 of last year, a month after Premier Danielle Smith announced her government's intention to overhaul the health-care system, including downsizing the role of AHS.