Stratford surgeon unvaccinated, soon to be unemployed
CTV
Dr. Alanna Fitzpatrick is one of 14 healthcare workers within the Huron-Perth Healthcare Alliance who will lose their jobs next week because they have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Dr. Alanna Fitzpatrick is one of 14 healthcare workers within the Huron-Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA) who will lose their jobs next week because they have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“It was a gut-wrenching decision knowing the potential consequences,” Fitzpatrick tells CTV News.
In order to keep their jobs, HPHA, encompassing hospitals in Stratford, Seaforth, St.Marys, and Clinton, has made it mandatory for the 1,400 healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Fitzpatrick is one of two HPHA physicians still unvaccinated. She’s pro-vaccine, but says personal health issues, that wouldn’t qualify for a medical exemption, are keeping her from getting the shot. She said she believes daily testing and extra precautions should be enough for her to keep her job.
“Is it truly free and informed consent if your job is on the line? If you’re potentially losing your livelihood or you’re not able to provide for your family? A lot of people are wondering if that invalidates the time-tested medical principle of free and informed consent,” she said.
The head of the Huron-Perth Healthcare Alliance, Andrew Williams, stands by his hospital network’s stance of mandatory vaccination.
“We will always respect individual rights, but as an organization, we have responsibilities and that responsibility in the context of COVID, is to ensure a safe environment, and the way to ensure that, is to have your team vaccinated,” he said. “It’s one layer of protection, but a very, very important one, that from our perspective is necessary to continue to say to the community that this is a safe place to come and get the care you need.”
