Health boards' admin support under scrutiny in attempt to rein in spending
Finance minister says spending has grown by more than 70 per cent in a decade
Changes are coming to Newfoundland and Labrador's health-care system as the provincial government looks to shift more of its focus towards frontline health care services and consolidate administrative support among the four health authorities.
It's part of a five-year plan announced in Thursday's budget aimed at improving patient care and ensuring the health care system is sustainable, said Finance Minister Ross Wiseman.
It follows on the heels of a pre-budget announcement on April 28 that outlined plans to partner with the private sector to add 360 additional long-term care beds throughout the province.
Government is using words such as effective, efficient and responsive to tackle a line item in the provincial budget that is now costing taxpayers nearly $3 billion.
That's an increase of more than 70 per cent over the past decade, and puts this province among the highest in the country for per capita health care costs.
Spending wisely, effectively
Wiseman announced Thursday that the government will look to improve shared services among the regional health authorities as one way of finding efficiencies in the system.
It's not yet clear what kind of savings such changes will produce, or the number of jobs that might be eliminated.
Health Minister Steve Kent said the intent is to standardize products and processes and remove overlapping roles and responsibilities in non-clinical areas.
We need to ensure that every dollar committed to health care is spent wisely and effectively.- Health Minister Steve Kent
"We need to ensure that every dollar committed to health care is spent wisely and effectively," Kent said.
He added there is a need to "find new ways of delivering services and create a more sustainable system."
Wiseman, in his budget speech, said such efficiencies will "allow regional health authorities to focus on their core business, which is the provision of high quality health services."
Creating a shared services organization
Wiseman said there are no plans to reduce the number of health authorities, which employ some 20,000 people.
However, he said each authority have separate administrative services such as purchasing, supply chain management, human resources, information management and information technology.
He said consolidating these services will bring the province "better value for our money."
The Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information will also be included in this consolidation of services.
The move will result in the creation of a standalone shared service organization, Wiseman said, and help in the process of transforming the health care system.