‘Disappointment’ on health funding discussions: Hudson
Minister says P.E.I. ‘can work with our federal partners’ on improving health outcomes if funding increased
P.E.I.’S Health Minister has returned from meetings with provincial and territorial health ministers in Vancouver with little good news on efforts to increase long-term healthcare funding.
But unlike other provincial ministers, Ernie Hudson did not dismiss a suggestion by Federal Health Minister Jeanyves Duclos that an increase in healthcare funding should be contingent on improving health indicators and the implementation of a common healthcare data system.
Speaking to reporters after Question Period on Nov. 9, Hudson said provincial ministers were given no firm timeline for negotiation an increase to Canada Health Transfers to the provinces.
"I wouldn't say we were discouraged, but disappointment that there wasn't movement on that," Hudson said.
"There was a unified approach from all PT ministers on that."
For more than two years, Canadian premiers have been asking the federal government to increase its share of healthcare costs from 22 per cent to 35 per cent. Ottawa has disputed the premiers’ math about its share of healthcare costs and has argued that a funding commitment needs to be matched with commitments to improving health outcomes.
Meanwhile, P.E.I.’S hospital wait times have continued to rise as more than 25,000 Islanders lack a primary health provider or family doctor.
Before the meetings had been completed last week, the premiers issued a release claiming “no progress” had been achieved in funding negotiations with the federal government.
The premiers also said a meeting with Prime Minister Trudeau was needed to resolve funding issues and address the increasingly dire issues facing the healthcare system.
“We had hoped certainly at least there would have been a commitment – a date, a time set by the federal party, or by the Prime Minister's Office," Hudson said.
"We have stepped up but we need that federal partnership."
When asked whether P.E.I. disagreed with the position that funding increases be tied to health outcome improvements, Hudson did not rule this out. But he said the first step would be discussions of how much funding can be increased.
“I'm sure that we can work with our federal partners once we know what the increase, what they will be looking at," Hudson said.
Hudson said provinces and territories are all dealing with healthcare staffing shortages. He also noted the P.E.I. government has increased its healthcare budget by $200 million over the last four years.
FEDS HAVE A POINT: GREENS
Hudson’s remarks came after he faced criticism from both the Liberals and Greens for healthcare services in the legislature on Nov. 9.
Liberal MLA Hal Perry spent a second day in a row asking Hudson about the decision to temporarily close overnight emergency services at Western Hospital in Alberton.
Green MLA Michele Beaton asked Hudson about a 2019 commitment by his predecessor, former health minister James Aylward, to increase the number of physician residency positions in P.E.I. from five to seven. Hudson conceded that the province still had only five residency training positions.
In an interview, Beaton said the lack of progress on training for new family doctors on P.E.I. was a sign that there is reason for the federal government to question healthcare spending decisions by the P.E.I. government.
"I think that the federal government probably does have a point here because whenever I question the minister on outcomes, on monies that he has spent, he answers in a way that he doesn't even understand what an outcome is," Beaton said.
"How do you support your numbers and what you're asking the federal government for if you can't actually show them what you're going to accomplish with the current dollars that you're spending?"