Over the next few months, many healthcare institutions will have to make small and large efforts to balance their finances.
At the CISSS de Laval, for example, employees of three CHSLDs, including that of Sainte-Dorothée, recently learned that staff absences would not be filled for the night shift.
In a recent communication, the human resources department explains that the decision follows the receipt of the MSSS budget envelope, which is lower for accommodation and has been in effect for several weeks now.
The Union of Nurses, Respiratory Therapists and Nursing Assistants of Laval (SIIIAL-CSQ) is concerned about the risks for users and staff.
Nursing assistants, instead of having 29 patients on one floor, which is the norm, are reduced to 58 patients to cover two floors.
A quote from Déreck Cyr, president of the Union of Nurses, Respiratory Therapists and Nursing Assistants of Laval
He said this represents a reduction in monitoring of residents and an increase in the risk of errors in the administration of medication.
We don’t want to replace them to save money. […] We have members who are afraid of losing their license, he adds.
Open in full screen mode
Déreck Cyr, President of the Union of Nurses, Respiratory Therapists and Nursing Assistants of Laval (SIIIAL-CSQ)
Photo : Radio-Canada
A problem that does not arise from a lack of staff, since several auxiliary nurses would be prepared to work more hours.
Unacceptable in the eyes of the union, which points out that around a hundred residents of the Sainte-Dorothée CHSLD died due to lack of appropriate care during the first wave of the pandemic.
Finances in the red
It must be said that the finances of the CISSS de Laval have gone from green to red over the last year with a deficit of nearly 50 million dollars.
At the CISSS, we recognize that we must adjust the nursing and support care ratios in certain accommodation centers in order to contribute to a balanced budget.
The CISSS de Laval maintains ratios above the provincial average without compromising the safety of care, spokesperson Marie-Eve Despatie-Gagnon said by email.
The Provincial Group of User Committees (RPCU) believes that the budgets are insufficient to meet needs, particularly for accommodation.
We are facing austerity, only the Quebec government does not call it that, but that is the case.
A quote from Sylvie Tremblay, general director of the Provincial Group of User Committees
The Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers infirmiers infirmiers auxiliaires du Québec (OIIAQ) clarified by email that, generally speaking, the Order advocates safe ratios in order to ensure the protection of the public and that the population receives the quality of care it deserves.
We believe that public protection is ensured when care is provided by a complete and sufficient team.
A quote from the Order of Nursing Assistants of Quebec
In his latest budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, Finance Minister Eric Girard forecasts spending growth of 4.2% for health and social services.
A billion to be absorbed
The majority of healthcare institutions face the challenge of balancing their budgets.
According to a Radio-Canada compilation, most of the network’s 34 establishments posted a deficit in 2023-24 totaling more than a billion dollars.
The previous year, the majority of institutions had a surplus, totaling more than $1.1 billion.
Start of widget . Skip widget ?End of widget . Return to start of widget ?
According to information obtained by Radio-Canada, the Ministry of Health is closely monitoring establishments so that they can restore budgetary balance, in particular by cutting staff from private agencies.
Health and social services network establishments have a legal responsibility to return to a balanced budget, and some have submitted plans to achieve this.
A quote from the Cabinet of Minister Christian Dubé
Minister Dubé’s office still says it is counting on significant savings linked to the gradual elimination of hours worked by employees of private agencies.
We also recall the increase of more than 50% in the health budget since the Coalition avenir Québec came to power.
Recovery plans
To date, the Ministry of Health has requested plans to return to a balanced budget from four establishments, including the CISSS des Laurentides, which are struggling with a significant deficit.
During her first communication with the staff of the CISSS des Laurentides, last February, the new CEO of the establishment clearly displayed her colours.
The CISSS des Laurentides shows a deficit of more than 170 million dollars […]It is essential to raise awareness among all teams of their responsibilities in the sound budgetary management of our establishment.
A quote from Julie Delaney, CEO of the CISSS des Laurentides
A plan to return to a balanced budget was submitted to the MSSS on January 26 and will run until 2026.
The CISSS du Bas-Saint-Laurent also had to produce a plan to return to a balanced budget, which clearly points to the independent workforce […] which caused the financial deficits.
A similar story is heard in Gaspésie, where it is specified that two of the key actions of this work are to increase the rate of attendance at work (or in another sense, to reduce absences) and secondly, to continue our recruitment efforts outside the region, indicates the assistant to the CEO and head of communications, Lou Landry.
In Chaudière-Appalaches, there is talk of an increase in salaries caused by a greater demand for home care due to the aging of the population.
Even inflation has weighed on budgets. This has a major impact, among other things, on our spending on food, transportation and medical supplies, budget items whose costs have been rising sharply over the past two years, says CISSS spokesperson Mireille Gaudreau.
Quebec’s funding would partially cover inflation.
