Even in the absence of direct cuts to services, health-care managers have expressed concern that any dramatic reduction in spending would inevitably result in problems with access.
Santé Québec is contemplating, as a last resort, “a selective reduction of services” to the population in a four-phase plan to slash $1.5 billion in spending within the province’s beleaguered health network, The Gazette can reveal.
“They’re starting to talk about whether or not that’s somewhere where they need to go,” a high-ranking source said on Friday. “Nobody has decided that yet. They’ve got a four-phase plan for reducing spending. The fourth phase is a selective reduction of services. The other phases are mostly administrative, things like getting rid of unfilled positions, reducing your printing if you don’t need to print or getting rid of paper.”
Asked what services might be cut, the source — who agreed to be interviewed on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue — replied: “I haven’t heard any talk yet. We’re looking at it internally in our own organization and we’re scratching our heads.”
However, the fact that Santé Québec is even mulling the possibility of cutting health services to the public underscores the gravity of the financial crisis. “Up until now, they were saying, ‘You can’t do anything to reduce service or access.’ But they’re now getting to the point where they’re actively considering what, if anything, that could be done to affect certain services. No decisions have been taken.”
“The accumulated deficit at mid-year (was) $1 billion,” Santé Québec noted in the statement. “Looking ahead to the end of the fiscal year in March 2025, the projected deficit could rise to as much as $1.5 billion if nothing is done.
“There are three main reasons for the budget overrun,” the Crown corporation explained. “First, there has been an increase in demand for existing services, for example, mental health, home care and emergency room visits. Second, the development of new services to meet the needs of an aging population. Third, inflation, which was high at the beginning of the year.”
On Friday evening, Catherine Domingue, a Santé Québec spokesperson, declined to confirm or deny the prospect of “a selection reduction of services,” referring a reporter instead to the earlier Bluesky post.
Health Minister Christian Dubé created Santé Québec with a view to running the province’s $60-billion-a-year public health system more efficiently. “In anticipation of our taking office on Dec. 1, Santé Québec teams have been working with each of our facilities over the past few weeks to implement solutions, based on local realities, to generate greater efficiency and return to a balanced budget for the current year.”
Even in the absence of direct cuts to services, health-care managers have expressed concern that any dramatic reduction in spending would inevitably result in problem with access, including longer wait times for surgery. “At some point there are going to be consequences. I mean, it’s not a matter necessarily of cutting service, but this could result in longer wait times,” a senior administrator had said in an interview.