Jessica N. Hood, CDP®’s Post

🚨 2023 has seen an unprecedented rise in healthcare labor strikes, with 43 strikes already recorded. From pay to staffing concerns, healthcare workers are increasingly ready to voice their dissatisfaction, potentially disrupting your facility's operations. 🔒 Don't be caught off guard. Partner with USN to ensure you have a robust plan in place should a strike hit your facility. 👥 In these uncertain times, a partnership with USN can help you navigate through potential labor strikes, ensuring uninterrupted quality care for your patients. Reach out to USN today. Stay prepared. Stay proactive. #healthcare #laborstrikes #USN #preparedness

Since the devolution of healthcare in 2013,The issue of poor leadership resulting in poor health system performance is recurrent. Good leadership is the promoter of good governance, management, service delivery, and overall improvement of population health. Thus, when people who govern, managers, service providers, patients, and community members consistently practice good leadership, this will ultimately result in good health outcomes and a healthy people. Unfortunately poor leadership is a direct cause of the health care workforce challenge we are facing today. Workers’ strikes or industrial action are identified as “…the collective withholding of labour/services by a category of professionals, for the purpose of extracting concessions or benefits, typically for the economic benefits of the strikers.” The right to strike is widely considered a civil right and is often part of a country’s legal system. However, for some professional groups, including health workers, strikes might have implications beyond the involved parties . Since devolution of healthcare services in 2013, the Kenyan public health sector has been affected by frequent short and often localised strikes. These were followed by a public-sector nationwide doctors’ strike lasting 100 days (from 5 December 2016 to 14 March 2017) and then the nurses’ strike lasting 150 days (from 5 June to 1 November 2017), a total of 250 strike days in a span of 11 months, referred to hereafter as the 2017 strikes (Irimu G et al,2018).Today we are still having work force challenges with the workforce in our hospitals resulting from poor leadership and management in our devolved and national health ministries. The concept of ‘collaborative governance,’ in which non-health actors and health actors work together, has come to underpin health systems and service delivery internationally in order to meet changing expectations and new priorities (Figueroa, C.A et al, 2019).The appointment of the current cabinet secretary is only an attempt to this concept ,however proper vetting of members selected for this post should be done so as to ensure success of this concept.

👇🚨 Don’t skip past this story. This is the most important healthcare industry issue that far too few people are talking about as we look ahead to 2024. “Healthcare workers, including nurses, pharmaceutical employees and hospital staff all walked off the job this year … there were at least 27 healthcare industry strikes in 2023." “Most of the striking employees were seeking increases in pay and additional staffing during peak work hours.” “The most notable of these disputes was a walkout at Kaiser Permanente that became the largest healthcare labor crisis in U.S. history. Thousands of workers at the California-based health conglomerate picketed this October.” 👇💡 Why this matters: Strikes, bargaining and organizing are only going to increase over the next five years. And I don’t think this will just impact traditional care providers. Any company that offers in-person care will likely be dealing with more and more complicated – and highly visible – labor relations in the near future. For communicators, this situation will be something that requires significant time to manage and address. It’s important to adjust to this new reality and think about how resources will be impacted. #healthcare #hospitals #hcmktg #hcldr

Adapting compensation strategies to bridge the pay gap between union and non-union employees in health care is a challenge within the industry. However, SullivanCotter's latest insights reveal a more contemporary and holistic approach. Consider a comprehensive 'total rewards' package that integrates work-life balance, professional development, and recognition! Achieve the talent retention and attraction you've been longing for. #healthcare #compensation #totalrewards #SullivanCotterInsights

NHS Faces Challenge Of Recovering After Latest Junior Doctor Strikes Longest NHS walk-out in history comes to an end as junior doctors return to work. The walkout has come to an end this morning (January 9). Junior Doctors have been on strike as part of a long running dispute over pay Speaking as the latest wave of junior doctor strikes comes to an end Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said “NHS leaders will be relieved that this round of industrial action is coming to a close but their teams now face the mop-up challenge of rebooking the tens of thousands of patients whose planned care was displaced. These strikes came during one of the busiest weeks of the year for the health service, as seen in number of trusts having to declare critical incidents or calling for junior doctors to return to work. “Health leaders and their staff carried out extensive planning to prepare for these strikes, and their incredible hard work over this period has kept services from buckling completely and maintained services as best as possible. “It is too early to say what the full impact of the longest strikes in NHS history has been and how many patients have had their vital appointments or operations postponed. What is potentially more worrying is we do not know how many patients avoided coming forward for care due to the strikes and what kind of backlog this could create for already overstretched services. “The NHS will take time to recover, but it is still the middle of winter and with a cold snap on the horizon services could face yet more pressure. Consultants who covered for their junior doctor colleagues could also be taking time off now, which may lead to a further drop in productivity. “Now that the strikes are coming to an end the government and BMA should re-start negotiations and end this dispute which is having such an impact on patients and the NHS.” Read More:

Recent U.S. healthcare worker strike echoes efforts dating back to 1970s The largest U.S. healthcare worker strike in recent history, involving 75,000 workers uniting against Kaiser Permanente under the banner of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, resulted in the Oakland-based healthcare company agreeing to a contract in November to set higher hourly minimum wages and promising its workers a 21% wage increase over the next four years. The last time workers reached an agreement with Kaiser was in 2018, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when conditions for healthcare workers deteriorated as efforts to treat those affected by the illness reached extreme levels of urgency. The effects on health care workers also were extreme. Read the whole article by Northeastern University student Alexa Coultoff: https://lnkd.in/e2NAF_wt #kaiserpermanente #healthcare #healthcareworkers #strike #union #unionstrong #covid19 #wages #wagesandsalaries SEIU COALITION OF KAISER PERMANENTE UNIONS

I'm curious. I'm curious about the different reactions to two striking parties in the same week. This week marked the end of the longest doctors' strike in NHS history. Junior doctors have been striking periodically since last March. The strikes are for pay restoration and fair working conditions. If nothing changes, the levels of moral distress and workforce attrition will get worse. Already, 1/3 medical students plan to quit after foundation training and 40% of junior doctors are actively planning to leave. The well-being of patients and doctors have been severely affected by these strikes. In the same week, a proposed week-long strike by tube drivers was called off at the last minute as negotiations began. Ultimately, money was found and the disruption to the economy was diverted. I support both striking parties. But crudely put, it seems that in principle, the economy is more precious than human health (of course, the two are intrinsically linked but this is another discussion). This reality is not surprising but it's still sad. #strikes #juniordoctorsstrikes #bma #doctors #overworked #underpaid #payrestoration

What changes to Statutory Sick Pay can we expect with the new changes Labour is implementing? Here is what we know so far and what it means for your business.

Positive meeting between Junior Doctors and Wes Streeting re. ongoing pay disputes. Avoiding strikes means less disruption in healthcare, making it easier to recruit and retain staff. Stability in the sector is attractive to potential candidates and shows a commitment to resolving issues constructively. Overall, this situation is a win for both healthcare professionals and patients. https://lnkd.in/ekVVAJCh #juniordoctors #healthcare #doctorsstrike

Heads up - More strikes are coming..... NHS consultants in England and Wales have planned strikes, with consultants in Wales scheduling a 48-hour strike from April 16 to 18. You can have your facility covered - mitigate your risk now! In 2023, healthcare employee strikes in the US and UK had significant financial and operational impacts. The US faced a cost of approximately $2.5 billion, while the UK's strikes led to a $1.2 billion expense. These strikes not only imposed financial burdens but also strained healthcare systems, leading to postponed treatments and stretched services. As healthcare professionals advocated for better pay and working conditions, the strikes highlighted the critical balance between employee welfare and uninterrupted healthcare services. #HealthcareStrikes #FinancialImpact #HealthcareSystems #EmployeeWelfare #Negotiations2023