CKRW File Photo
Both the Territorial NDP and The Yukon Party have leveled heavy criticism at the Yukon Government over the findings within the recently released Governance and Financial
Management Review of the Yukon Hospital Corporation by law firm Ernst & Young.
The report found a chronic issue with underfunding largely due to inflationary factors affecting the cost of healthcare services and labour, which were outside the control of the Yukon Hospital Corporation or the Yukon Government. These inflationary pressures led to a deficit in the Operational & Management budget.
The underfunding issue was exacerbated by a financial reporting process by the Yukon Hospital Corporation to the Government’s Health and Social Services Department, which obscured the underlying cause of the deficit, as well as communication failures between the two organizations that led to inflation costs being applied to some O&M funding requests, but not others, creating a situation where adjustments to the O&M funding grants to the Y-H-C by the Territorial government failed to keep pace with the actual costs required.
The Yukon Party has accused the Territorial Government of mismanaging and underfunding the hospital corporation, saying they consistently ignored warnings of an operational deficit, and instead prioritized travel expenses for the Premier.
“He premier has come home with very little to show from any of his trips so far. And he may be enjoying traveling around to various conferences and talking at them and rubbing shoulders with with important people but ultimately the the main part of the job is right here in the Yukon and when our healthcare system is in crisis and when our hospitals are in crisis Yukoners have every right to expect that the Premier and the health minister would both treat it seriously” – Brad Cathers Health Critic for the Yukon Party Caucus
The Territorial NDP had also criticized the Yukon Government, with NDP Leader Kate White pointing out hospital budget cuts in the past has led to critical services being reduced, impacting surgeries, mammograms, and CT scans. She pointed out what she calls a disconnect between government claims of a well-managed healthcare system and the stark realities faced by Yukoners seeking medical care.
“Knowing that that this shortfall exists, knowing that services have been cut back, and knowing even that the Hospital Corporation has requested additional funding for next year, and that’s been denied already is problematic. Right. And so having a Yukon government that’s that’s prepared to put the Hospital Corporation into deficit for things that they’re trying to plan for is is problematic and is not a good indication. And I do think that there is a line in the report that’s really important where it says, while the deficit was clearly communicated, there was a lack of clear communication on its implications. Put another way, no one asked where the money was going to come from.” – Kate White, Leader of the Yukon NDP
The Yukon Government has responded positively to the report, calling it a step towards improving the hospital system, and says that implementing the reports recommendations will aid in transforming the current system into a patient-oriented Yukon Health Authority.
