Jobs, subsidies and more among casualties of Labrador-Grenfell Health cuts
Cuts to dental and orthodontic services and fee hikes for patients who travel by air are among the ways Labrador-Grenfell Health is planning to save money.
The health authority revealed cost-cutting measures Monday, along with all other health authorities which took big cuts to their operational funding in this year's provincial budget.
"Earlier on in the year we were asked to put forward some options for what we could look at doing in anticipation of a very tough budget, so what you see today are things that have been approved," said Tony Wakeham, CEO of the health authority.
One cost-saving measure is cutting subsidized orthodontic services.
"It's not something that a health authority is normally involved in," said Wakeham, adding that service was originally partially subsidized by the orthodontist.
"We had to look at ways of reducing expenditures and getting out of subsidizing services that are really not our mandate to provide."
No more nurse
The changes are expected to save $858,300 in 2016, and $1.39 million next year, and include the loss of 6.1 full-time equivalent positions.
Among those is the loss of the only full-time registered nurse position in Black Tickle.
"We have had a vacancy in our nurse position there since January 2015 that we have not been able to fill, and we've been using locums to cover that," said Wakeham.
A nurse will now travel to the community once a week, and a physician will continue to visit every six weeks.
Complete list
The complete list of changes and cuts are as follows:
- 6.1 full-time equivalent positions will be eliminated.
- Black Tickle community clinic to be seen by regional nurse once a week. Doctors and community health nurses will continue with regular visits to the community.
- One dentist and one dental assistant will rotate services through four clinics — Flower's Cove, Roddickton-Bide Arm, Port Hope Simpson and Charlottetown. Changes take effect Oct. 1.
- Round-trip fee for residents on the north and south coasts is increasing to $80 for patients who travel on chartered air service, known as schedevac, for appointments.
- Schedevac will move to a twice-a-week service on the south coast only from July to December (when the ferry operates) and continue three times a week from January to June.
- Subsidized orthodontic service for residents of central, northern and coastal Labrador discontinued.
- Losing one senior executive position through attrition.
With files from Jacob Barker