NGH deficit

[gale force]

Just read of the hospitals present 700 thousand dollar deficit, with a projected loss of 1.4 million. I shudder thinking in those kinds of numbers, but realize it probably is a "drop in the bucket" to some businessess. However, our hospitals are not supposed to be a business are they? The law states that they cannot run at a deficit. So how do you correct the situation?

After spending five months at my husbands side on the 3rd and then the 4th floor before he was transferred to Norview, I had a pretty close look at some parts of the hospital operation. I can't believe that staff cuts are a cost saving possibility because they are greatly understaffed already. I doubt that there is any cost saving in meal preparation. Private citizens organize drives to accumulate enough cash to upgrade equipment. So I guess it has to boil down to the political front, with the federal government passing on the financial obligation to the province and the province passing it on down to the cities and municipal authority.

How do we get out from under?

[kishgo]

Good question GF. And sadly, no easy answer. Jo Brant is having the same issues and yet they are slated for expansion! Gov't grants are behind all the problems I suspect.

[retired2]

I thought a few month ago they said they were in good shape. How fast thinks can change

[growler]

one thing i have repeatedly questioned is the ceo and other high ranking employee's of ngh,are getting paid generous salarys as published via the sunshine list, plus under a different umbrella,continue to collect another wage via nhnh,that is under the $100,000. threshold required to be published and as it is classed as a seperate place of employment is not included in the wages appearing on the one that is published(9eg.CEOpaid $135,000.,published from NGH,then another approx.$65,000. from NHNH,not published)
this isn't part of ngh's financial picture/problem,but i think if they are hiding incomes from the public, how do we not Know what else they are hiding from us ?
why keep us in the dark and feed us crap ?
or are we mushrooms ?

[longtallsally]

Growler is probably on the right track, in that salaries of and the number of positions in the executive branch of our hospital (and all others, too) are major contributors to the high costs. Gale force was correct that the front-line nursing staff is understaffed and is already using lower-paying RPNs instead of RNs in many cases. We can't blame the feds for not providing enough money, because more money isn't really the answer. But we can blame the province for permitting boondoggles of waste, like the ehealth and Ornge scandals, to suck out money from the health system's front lines, like hospitals. We've really got to hold the provincial government to account for this, especially at election time. Let's not forget about it.

[observer]

Unfortunately, all that lost money in those scandalous models of waste can never be recouped. Don't you sometimes wish that those who were responsible for all that waste of taxpayer dollars could somehow be forced to repay the public purse?

[kishgo]

Oh Observer, wouldn't that be a sight for sore eyes? Responsiblity and accountability?! Never will happen, sad to say.

[Slowfood]

Yep go and look at what the executive wing costs.
My sister works at another hospital near here.
The decision was between A/C for the chronic floor, or a redo of the board room complete with nice big leather chairs. The board room won and my sister got the job of calling the funeral home whenever one of her elderly patients died from the heat during the summer.
One other tidbit-70% of the patient food costs for a hospital are spent on food service staff wages and benefits.

[kishgo]

How awful and most disturbing that this sort of thing happens in every sector.
Breaks my heart.

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