Hospital budget savings update

Niagara Health, like all hospitals across Ontario, is facing significant pressures. Patient needs are growing in both volume and complexity, while we work to make the most responsible use of our resources. To maintain high-quality, safe care, we must balance the need to make strategic investments in innovative models of care, technology, and infrastructure, with financial responsibility.   

We ended the last fiscal year with a $26 million deficit and are now working hard to find savings. We’ve already taken numerous steps to reduce the deficit including reviewing contracts, improving sick time and overtime, reducing discretionary spending and continuing to strengthen Emergency Department and in-patient performance. 

As part of this work, we have identified the need to adjust how we operate across the organization. This process includes standardization of models of care and staffing across hospital sites and ensuring that roles created during the pandemic that are no longer necessary are reassigned. To this end, Niagara Health has made the difficult but necessary decision to eliminate 98 roles. Most reductions (87%) are being achieved through vacancies and redeployment. These changes will result in more than $9 million in savings. 

Wherever possible, and in accordance with collective agreements, Niagara Health will endeavour to offer staff the opportunity to work elsewhere in the hospital and hope they will choose to stay. No nurses will be terminated, and Niagara Health will continue to recruit in areas of high demand. 

These decisions are always hard but are necessary to ensure we are continuously improving efficiency, evolving hospital operations and ensuring we are responsible stewards of public resources, while protecting patient care.  

We know this news is difficult. We are grateful for the professionalism and dedication staff bring to their work every day and remain focused on delivering the safe, compassionate care that Niagara residents count on.