Budget problems, bad medicine
Some costs escalate as deficit expected to climb to $11.5 million
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, December 4, 2014
INUVIK
Some familiar problems are continuing to bedevil the Beaufort Health and Social Services Authority.
Arlene Jorgenson, the new chief executive officer and president of the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority, presided over the organization's annual general meeting Nov. 17 at Ingamo Hall. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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At its annual general meeting last month at Ingamo Hall, authority staff revealed the deficit for 2014 was running at approximately $2.5 million.
The total accumulated deficit for the authority is $8.5 million, and that's likely to rise to $11.5 million next year.
That's down a bit from 2013, when the annual deficit was $2.5 million, but part of an ongoing problem with financing, said Roger Israel, the director of finance and operations, in his financial report. The operating budget is approximately $49.6 million.
Much of that cost overrun is eaten up by staff costs, especially transportation and relocation costs for temporary staff, he said.
The authority pays the costs for those staff, whether on locums or on contracts, to travel to and from Inuvik.
"Relocation costs are one expensive factor," he said.
Capital costs are also a headache for the authority, with funding for $48,000 in projects, but real expenditures of $650,000.
The hospital is also short $600,000 on the cost of medical supplies and associated expenses.
"It's not all doom and gloom, though," Israel said. "We've contracted out some services, and saved some money that way."
"We are chronically underfunded," he said.
Many of those temporary staff are also paid on an on-call basis, Israel said, which also adds considerably to the overall cost of running the authority, particularly the Inuvik General Hospital.
Administration and support accounted for close to 20 per cent of expenditures. Nursing and resident services accounted for a similar amount.
Peter Clarkson, the hospital's public administrator, said that despite the health authority's budget woes, he is still confident the authority is providing quality health care.
"The service we have here, in most cases, is excellent," he said. "Travel down south and see how long you'll wait for health service."
There were relatively few questions form the audience.
Nellie Cournoyea, the chairperson of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, said she agreed with that statement, although she questioned why there's a persistent deficit year after year.
Israel reiterated that the authority, like all health care, has been underfunded for years and no real steps have been taken to solve that problem.
Clarkson also touched briefly on the possibility the GNWT will create a health services and hospital "superboard" at sometime in the future. He said he watching the developments intently, although he isn't really in favour of it.
"We still want to be the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority, because it works well here," he told the sparse audience of about six people from the public.
