Health boss asks for savings ideas
Canterbury health workers have been asked to share cost-saving ideas with their boss as the board grapples with how to trim millions from its budget.
The Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB), which is working through its 2020-21 draft annual plan, could be considering slashing its operating costs by as much as $50 million to claw back its deficit. The senior doctors’ union is fearful hundreds of jobs could be on the line, while hospital insiders have raised the prospect of hiring freezes and restructures to slash staff costs, identified by consultants EY as a major operational deficit driver.
In his weekly update to staff on Monday, CDHB chief executive David Meates said the board had been directed to reduce its deficit.
‘‘We are not looking at ‘tinkering around the edges’ initiatives; we need to think about new and different ways of working that will help us realise significant savings.’’
CDHB staff with ideas that helped reduce expenditure could email him directly, Meates said. ‘‘All ideas will be gratefully received.’’
When asked last Friday, Meates did not rule out whether the board was looking at cutting staff costs to make savings. Instead, he said ‘‘we continue to look at a full range of options to achieve this’’.
The CDHB was forecasting a deficit of $177m for the 2019-20 financial year. However, $116m of this was made up of capital charge and depreciation costs, and the board had also incurred an extra $14m in costs associated with the Covid-19 response.
Meates said capital charge and depreciation costs would loom large on future deficits.
Events of the past decade, including the earthquakes, loss of facilities, and the March 15 terror attack have taken a toll on staff, with the health board going from the lowest rate of sick leave in 2010 to the highest in 2019, according to the chief people officer.
Senior clinicians have also become frustrated by a campus planning process meant to ensure Christchurch Hospital has enough space for future demand. In May, all but two CDHB board members signed off on a $154m option for a partially outfitted third tower on the new Christchurch Hospital Hagley building. The decision contradicted clinical advice. The Clinical Leaders Group had previously pushed for a third tower, new podium building and a fourth tower.