A two per cent increase in base funding is welcome and may work toward keeping patients from being treated in the hallways, says Guelph General Hospital president, but the increase is not enough to address its growth needs.
On Friday morning, Guelph MPP Liz Sandals announced a $2.38 million increase in funding for Guelph General’s 2018-19 budget, bringing the province’s base funding contribution to about $111 million in total.
Sandals said the increase in funding will provide better access to care, reduce wait times, address capacity issues and better meet the needs of the growing population in Guelph and Wellington County.
The increase in funding is welcome and will help the hospital deal with some of its inflation and increasing labour costs, said Marrianne Walker, president and CEO of Guelph General.
Walker notes, however, that the two per cent increase is not enough to address the growth that Guelph is experiencing and the pressures that puts on the hospital.
“That’s our biggest issue in the Guelph community. Growth is huge. That’s where we are struggling now, because we are at the point where we need to keep those high levels of services, we need to have dollars to deal with the growth,” said Walker.
Hospital staff did a fabulous job finding efficiencies in the years Guelph General experienced little or no increases in base funding, said Walker.
In early 2014, for instance, the Operating Room, Materials Management and the Sterile Processing Department teamed up to find efficiencies, while still meeting the needs of the surgical program.
“The (operating room) team came together with surgeons, vendors and nurses and saved over a million dollars by looking at our supplies,” said Walker.
At this point, said Walker, there isn’t much fat left to cut.
“We still need that growth funding,” she said.
The timing of the announcement is welcome for those working on the Guelph General’s 2018-19 budget, said Walker.
Guelph General usually receives the funding commitment from the province after April 1, when its fiscal year has already begun.
“Usually we are creating our budget and speculating on what we might get,” said Walker. “What is rally positive is we know our funding now.”
Hospitals in Guelph and Wellington County are sharing a total of $3.76 million in additional funding during the announcement, including $360,000 for St. Joseph's Health Centre and $340,000 for Homewood Health Centre..
Late last year, the hospital received $400,000 in one-time funding to open additional surge beds to help alleviate a significant increase in patient volumes.
That funding from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care ends at the end of the month.
Walker said the hospital needs dollars to fund 12 additional beds, as well as maintaining the 12 surge beds.
“We have had patients in the halls. It’s a busy time,” said Walker.
