South Bruce Grey Health Centre has released a Budget Recovery Action plan to address the organization’s projected $1.9 million deficit at the end of the fiscal year. It involves six strategies to reduce $1.2 million in expenses between now and the end of the 2019/2020 fiscal year.
Interim President and CEO Michael Barrett said they will maintain high-quality care with four strong hospital sites. He said the efficiencies will have minimal impact on patients and staff. However non-union job reductions will create $120,000 in savings. Two positions have been eliminated, and the responsibilities of those positions will be assumed by other staff within the organization.
A new 10-bed Seniors Care Centre will be created at the Chesley site to care for acute patients awaiting discharge to the appropriate setting. It will offer activities, dining and physiotherapy, which will allow the other hospital sites to focus on acute care patients.
Outpatient lab testing will be moved to a private community clinic, while microbiology testing will be moved to an external provider.
Other strategies include outsourcing transcription services while creating their own Non-Urgent Patient Transfer Service.
“The guiding principle behind all of the strategies in the action plan is to maintain high-quality patient care and ensure that we continue to have four strong, viable hospital sites,” says Michael Barrett, SBGHC. “The strategies are intended to create efficiencies that will have minimal impact on patients and staff, and in many cases, these opportunities should have been explored regardless of our financial position.”
The Budget Recovery Action Plan was developed by SBGHC’s Senior Leadership Team and Board of Directors, in close consultation with the organization’s Corporate Medical Advisory Committee, made up of physician leads from each of the four hospital sites.
Some of the cost pressures facing SBGHC include acute patients who are ready and waiting to be moved to their next destination, outpatient work that the hospital is not funded for, and patients staying considerably longer in the hospital than the provincial average.
“The hospital has engaged the physician groups at each of our sites to solicit feedback on the budget recovery action plan strategies,” said Dr. Lisa Roth, SBGHC chief of staff. “The success of our budget recovery will be dependent on our physicians and staff working closely together to utilize our beds more efficiently, and ensure that our patients are receiving care in the most appropriate setting.”
The Board of Directors approved the plan at a special meeting held on January 8.
“The SBGHC Board has endorsed this Budget Recovery Action Plan as we believe that it will allow us to address the financial pressures we are experiencing, bring our expenses to the appropriate level to operate within the revenue we receive, and return our organization to a balanced position,” said Larry Allison, SBGHC board chair. “And it will most importantly ensure we continue to provide high-quality patient care.”
SUMMARY OF COST SAVINGS Diversion of Outpatient Lab Testing - $245,000 Diversion of Microbiology Testing - $155,000 Outsourcing Transcription Services - $36,000 Seniors’ Centre of Care - $280,000 Non-Union Reductions - $120,000 Exploring Options for Non-Urgent Patient Transportation - $229,000 TOTAL COST SAVINGS $1,065,000
