BURST
The other shoe has dropped , courtesy of B.C.’s Provincial Health Services Authority.
Dr. Penny Ballem, interim president and CEO of the Provincial Health Services Authority, began a series of cost-cutting measures to reduce costs, including chopping 117 non-union jobs on Vancouver Island last month, which left those in the health care system wondering when the next cuts could come .
That came Friday, when it was reported 57 more staff have been cut, and 61 vacant positions eliminated. A PHSA spokesperson confirmed the cuts are not roles involving direct patient care, but are non-unionized, management positions. The Globe and Mail reported they included Heather Findlay, the PHSA’s chief strategy officer, some positions in finance and business operations, health systems intelligence, and at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Ballem followed through on Premier David Eby’s election promise of reducing what was deemed as administrative bloat, with a high number of leadership roles that needed culling.
A PHSA spokesperson provided a statement Saturday:
“We have been looking closely at our administrative and leadership structures, with a focus on minimizing unnecessary administrative spending and ensuring resources support front line patient care. We are in the process of making changes to reduce our leadership and administrative structures and we are notifying impacted employees and those most directly impacted first, in a phased approach, across our programs and services. We are expecting that this process will take several weeks. Patient-facing roles are not being impacted.
“We have been approaching this process with thoughtfulness, care, and respect for everyone impacted — communicating regularly with employees, while also ensuring our core services remain intact so that our patients, families, and partners to continue to receive the best care and services possible. We continue to uphold other cost-saving measures, such as the freeze on hiring into all non-contract/non-union roles not tied to the delivery of critical patient services, and also on travel and conference attendance paid for by the organization.
“This work is happening in parallel with the broader reviews underway at PHSA and the regional health authorities.”
The agency said there will be more restructuring and leadership reductions in coming weeks as it is in the process of notifying any employees who may be impacted. There are 26,000 employees in the agency.
Provincial Health Minister Josie Osborne launched a review of the authority in March, highlighting the goal of minimizing wasteful administrative costs and ensuring resources are allocated to “critical patient services.”