About 25 FHTs across the province have unionized workplaces. AFHTO, in partnership with the Osborne Group, has prepared a case study for AFHTO members which looks at the advice and learnings from 10 of these FHTs. Even with the anticipated increase in funding, compensation in primary care will remain below market comparators, and so the potential for further unionization remains. Primary care leaders may wish to think about how to prepare for the possibility of union organizing efforts in their FHT or NPLC. The case study documents motivators for union drives and what teams went through in the process of union certification, negotiation and managing in a unionized environment. Importantly, the experience of these 10 teams highlights both the challenges and possible benefits of working under a Collective Agreement. The case study may assist other FHTs/NPLCs as they contemplate the potential for, and the implications of, unionization in their own workplaces. Because of the sensitive nature of some of the information that was provided to us, we have not identified the FHTs by name. However, if any primary health care teams are interested in speaking directly to the Executive Directors or Boards of these FHTs, AFHTO will facilitate an introduction. Case Study: Unionization – The Experience of Ten Family Health Teams [PDF]
Toward a Primary Care Recruitment and Retention Strategy for Ontario
The increase in funding announced in the 2016 Ontario budget is a first step in a longer-term strategy to achieve greater equity in compensation within team based primary care. The AFHTO-AOHC-NPAO proposal remains our goal; on behalf of our members, AFHTO will continue to press for the full funding needed to make working in primary care attractive to recruit and retain competent staff in this sector. As for implementation of government’s 2016-17 commitment, approval letters for each FHT, NPLC, AHAC (and through the LHINs for CHCs) are in the final stages of ministry sign-off. We don’t know how long this will take, but hopefully will be “soon”. The funding will be retroactive to April 1, 2016. Once funding letters are available and Ministry approvals are in place regarding the funding allocation, AFHTO (with MOHLTC participation) will hold technical briefings with EDs & Board Chairs.
Learning from your peers: additional case studies
AFHO has developed a series of case studies for our members to share the experience of colleagues on topics identified as being important to you:
- Care Coordination in Primary Care – Embedding Care Coordinators in your Team
- Team Dynamics – Four FHTs share how they integrated their staff and operations
- Quality Improvement Decision Support Partnerships – Building Collaboration and Increased Capacity (Coming soon, stay tuned!)
- Optimizing Resources & Spreading Access to Interprofessional Teams (Coming soon, stay tuned!)
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