SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of Kaiser Permanente mental health professionals throughout California kicked off a week-long strike Monday to protest what they say is a lack of staffing that affects care.
The health care provider’s 2,600 psychologists, therapists and social workers walked out to demand that Kaiser Permanente offer timely, quality mental health care at its psychiatry departments and clinics, said Jim Clifford, a union member and San Diego psychiatric therapist.
Clifford said some patients have to wait up to two months for follow-up appointments, which prolongs the recovery process.
“Kaiser purports to be the leader in health care, but it’s continuing the history of discrimination against the mentally ill, and that’s unacceptable to us,” said Clifford, who has worked 13 years at Kaiser.
The mental health workers are represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which has been unable to reach a contract agreement with Kaiser since the union formed five years ago.
