Wait times likely to increase as Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region grapples with $17.5M deficit

Wait times will likely continue to increase in the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region as both the area's population and the demand for care increase, the health region's CEO says.

Keith Dewar says the funding provided to the health region has not matched the increased population pressure and demand for services.

In 2015-16, the health region posted a $15.2-million deficit.

"I anticipate similar circumstances this year," Dewar said. "The demand growth may not be as big as it was in the last year."

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He said wait times will likely increase when it comes to elective procedures that the health region doesn't have the funding to provide.

The RQHR's budget this year is about $1 billion, which Dewar said was similar to last year's budget, but the province provided about $9 million less in funding to offset inflation.

As a result, the health region is facing a $17.5 million deficit — but Dewar said the provincial budget didn't hit them as hard as he was expecting.

"It didn't change our basic approach to what we felt we needed to do for the current year to actually address the financial challenges."

To help deal with the funding shortfall, Dewar said the health region has been able to use attrition to move staff around and reduce costs. He hopes those cost reductions can be achieved without layoffs.

The health region has an attrition rate of eight per cent, Dewar said, which means about 800 people leave each year. He said the health region's aim is to save money by moving staff into vacant positions.

"If there are layoffs, it would hopefully occur that they get opportunities across the organization," Dewar said.