The Board of Directors of Sunrise Health Region recently passed the 2016-17, Operating Budget for the Region.
Not surprisingly, the budget came in as balanced, which is the mandate on high from the province in terms of local health budgets.
Now there is nothing inherently wrong with such a mandate. A balanced approach to financing health is a solid approach, at least on the operating side of things.
However, within the operating numbers, there simply is no room for fresh thinking in terms of health care delivery at the local level.
Seventy-seven per cent of expenditures go to compensation, wages and benefits for staff, detailed Stusek. An additional six per cent is budgeted for medical renumeration.
In the case of wages, those are predominantly established through contracts between the province and groups such as the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN).
With more than 80 per cent of operating expenses linked largely to contracts and agreements agreed to by other parties, the local Region is ultimately managing a very small portion of expenditures. The actual wiggle room gets even tighter when you factor in utility costs, which again have to be paid, with limited ability to alter the costs.
It’s no better in terms of revenues.
The budget is based on total revenues of $225,224,837, 90 per cent of that coming directly from Saskatchewan Health, and an additional three per cent coming from alternate government sources at the provincial and federal levels, explained Lorelei Stusek, VP of Corporate Services at the meeting.
Again there is little the Region can do but take what governments dole out and live within those revenues.
Even on the programming side the province dictates basic levels of care and services across a range of health areas, taking more of the control mechanisms from the local Board.
The local boards obviously play an important role in the sense of being a conduit for the flow of local health care concerns to the province, and as a local sounding board for area residents, but in terms of an operating budget they are simply caretakers.
And, it is even worse on the capital side.
The SHR encompasses 26 sites, with 185 acute care beds, 15 mental health beds, and 820 long term care and respite beds. Most of the facilities are far from new, many decades old.
The Board approved capital expenditures of $3,290,859 contingent on funding to be received from the sources listed in the accompanying schedules.
That level of dollars is at best fresh band-aids in terms of facility upkeep.
Again major capital projects are held firmly in the control of the province, with input for local Boards sought, but with seeming limited impact as witnessed by the stalled hopes of a new regional hospital in Yorkton anytime soon.
The illusion of control may lie with local health regions but the purse strings, services provided and long term vision lie largely with the provincial government.
