Funding health care in Saskatchewan now absorbs 42 per cent of the total budget or $4.84 billion, according to information released in this year's provincial budget that came down last Wednesday.
Last year spending on health care through the provincial coffers was increased by 3.5 per cent and another 4.5 per cent is earmarked for this year, or an increase of $132 million.
But in most health regions, that represents a cut, meaning that efficiencies will have to be found ... about $54 million worth.
What is happening this year is an edict that states regional health authorities must find 1.5 per cent in efficiencies within the funding formula.
Knocked down to the very local level, the mandate is one that will create several challenges at St. Joseph's Hospital where Greg Hoffort, the hospital's executive director, is expected to lead the charge to find areas where new efficiencies can lead to cuts in spending.
While an announcement of a CT scanner for St. Joe's was not included in last week's budget, Hoffort said he and the hospital board are expecting to hear something from the Ministry of Health sometime this week.
"We didn't expect an announcement on the CT scanner last week," he said.
Nor did the mandated cuts come unexpected either.
"We're now reviewing with a fine tooth comb. I don't expect many new dollars for St. Joseph's so we'll have to find some savings or increase revenue and that's hard to do. There are some extra dollars coming in thanks to some out-of-province patients we get who use our services and then we get paid by their health care plans or their home provinces, but we still have to do a lot of work," Hoffort added.
One area that will be studied is job vacancy management. When and if some vacant positions are filled, they could become part of the cutback game this year. There isn't a lot of room there, but it will have to be looked at.
"This will not affect any front line personnel, so there aren't too many positions that can go unfilled for long. In fact we could use more relief staff for instance. We've been fortunate lately in filling laboratory and X-ray technician positions, so no big vacancy spots to work with, but we'll have to look."
"We might get some capital funds for some odd bits of surgical capital needs, but we can't expect much on that file either," Hoffort said.
"We're wanting to finish the helipad this year. It will be finished this spring. It was $500,000 in the budget that is being trimmed, but it will be completed once the weather allows," he said, referring to the landing pad for the STARS helicopter that provides medical evacuation services in the province.
Hoffort said the local committee is also "getting awfully close" to completing the fundraising drive that is going to collect $8 million of the expected $32 million that it will take to build a desperately needed new nursing home in Estevan sometime in the near future.
"I expect they'll want to get into the provincial queue, the provincial lineup for health facilities pretty soon," Hoffort said.
Inflation and salary hikes that have already been negotiated will be covered, said Hoffort, so that strain can be avoided by the local health region.
"I can't say what the impact will be on the entire region, but I expect they'll be asked to take out any excess numbers they can locate too. I don't know what their numbers will be, but when they do get their answer, then we (St. Joseph's) will get our numbers from them and work from there."
As of Monday afternoon, Sun Country Health Region's chief executive officer Marga Cugnet and the vice-president of finance John Knoch were travelling in the region and unable to respond to an interview request.
