Oscotian Healthcare & Medical Service (OHMS) staff including nurses, paramedics, consultants and dentists in Oscotia will receive a 15% pay rise backdated to April 2021 after the government accepted the recommendations of the independent Healthcare Commission (HcCo).
For the average nurse, this will mean an additional $3,700 a year, while many support staff, including porters and cleaners will receive around $1,540.
The government committed to providing OHMS staff with a pay uplift in recognition of the rising demand of the healthcare service since the transition to a National Healthcare Service in 2018.
The Healthcare Commissioning bodies considered a range of evidence from organizations including government, the OHMS and trade unions in order to reach their recommendations.
Health and Social Minister John D Dorian said:
"OHMS staff are rightly receiving a pay rise this year despite the wider public sector pay pause, in recognition of their extraordinary efforts. We asked the independent care commissioning bodies for their recommendations and I’m pleased to accept them in full, with a 15% pay rise for all staff in scope, from doctors and nurses to paramedics and porters.
We will back the OHMS as we focus our efforts on getting through this transition from Private to Public Healthcare and tackling the backlog of patient health problems that has built up. I will continue to do everything I can to support all those in our health service who are working so tirelessly to care for patients".
OHMS Chief Doctor David Tennant said:
"I am determined to make the OHMS the best place to work for all our staff and we continue to invest in recruitment and retention with over 45,300 more staff into OHMS now compared to a year ago, including nearly 9,000 more nurses and over 4,000 more doctors.
Our OHMS staff have worked incredibly hard to fight to cope with the rising demand for our services and I’m glad to confirm we are accepting the pay review bodies’ recommendations in full this year, so staff in their remit will receive a 15% pay rise."
In addition, salaried GPs’ recommended minimum and maximum pay will be uplifted by 15% while dental contracts will be uplifted to account for the 15% uplift for dentists.
Lawmakers are calling for greater scrutiny of the Oscotian Department of Corrections, after a Daily Patriot Spotlight story on Sunday highlighted a raft of excessive force allegations by prisoners at the maximum-security Heisenberg Correctional Center during and shortly after a lockdown in early 2020.
“Having been to Heisenberg during the lockdown and seen the dog bites and taser marks with my own eyes, I am not surprised by this article,” said local councilor, Trevor Phillips in a social media post. “I am dismayed to see the Corrections Department put in writing that legislators should be ignored, and even more dismayed that the Prison Minister chose not to comment.”
Prison Minister Michael Corleone's office declined on Monday to respond to comments from legislators or to questions from the Daily Patriot about whether the Government believes there should be an independent investigation into the numerous abuse allegations from the Heisenberg Facility in early 2020.
The Spotlight story focused on abuse complaints and injuries of two Heisenberg prisoners, Samuel Jackson and Matthew Damon, who say they were beaten by a Department of Correction Officers Jan. 22, 2020. Prison security video obtained by the Daily Patriot shows that Jackson was mauled by a prison patrol dog while handcuffed, in his underwear, and under escort by two tactical officers. Officers later claimed Jackson antagonized the dog by trying to kick it calling it 'A Motherfucking Mutt', which Jackson denies. Reports from at least four officers who witnessed the events contained false allegations that Jackson broke free of the escort officers.
Councilor Trevor Phillips, said in the following statement “I can say that this report highlights what we already know to be true: Inhumane treatment and abuse does happen in the Department of Corrections, one of the only state agencies with minimal oversight and almost complete autonomy,” He continued with the additional statement.
“We should establish uniform standards in use of force and increase transparency, end solitary confinement practices, reduce the incarcerated population as public health professionals have outlined, and strengthen compassionate release and medical parole through an independent ombudsman program that already should have begun its work,” Phillips said.
The office of the Prison Minister has still yet to comment on the situation.
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