full cost of an independent study

on Mills Memorial procedures and

. financial needs.

In making that statement,
Strachan said: his ministry and
the society had agreed to abide by
Walker’s findings, no matter what
they might be. This was followed
by a statement from Parker:

"We're on track, I believe, with |
the services of the special consul- .

tant who will report to us by the
middle of next month with recom-

mendations that will see a sol- |

ution to our dilema."

On Aug. 20, independant
health consultant Malcom Walker
met privately with the board to
review his: interim - report. On

Aug. 28 the Terrace Review re-'

ported the gist of Walker’s. mes-
sage to the board: "Mills Memor-
ial Hospital provides a much more
complex health care service than
your run-of-the-mill, 89-bed hospi-
tal." The board and the entire
community were elated.

Walker completed his study:in
late August. On Sept. 4, health
care society chairman David Lane

told the Terrace Review ‘he was.

pleased. "He offered good guid-
ance that will help: te make all
levels of management more effec-
tive and ‘efficient, " Lane told the
Review:

"He laid to rest the historic

statistical ‘comparison of Mills

Memorial Hospital to others with-

in their’ peer group. In other
words, the level of services pro-
vided at Mills. is - significantly
larger than one would expect’ to
find in an 89-bed hospital”.

- . Walker also told Lane that
none of the services ‘offered at
Mills Memorial could be provided
more economically elsewhere and
for that reason funding should. be
based on the range of available
services rather than simply on the
numher of beds, ;

In both recognition and. dol
lars, Walker’s final. report was
cause for great: optimism. Mills
Memorial was finally recognized
as a. regional facility that required
a higher level of funding. From
Walker’s point of view, another

. $229,000 in funding... $145,375 in
actual dollars, and $73,625 in

savings through more efficient

operational procedures.

At the same _ time, Walker

didn't suggest that the Ministry of

Health write a blank cheque. He
recommended last fall that Mills
Memorial Hospital receive a one-
time ("ex-global") grant, separate

. from the base funding.

Leisinger: It’s like last year
never happened.

Then, after six months, if
Mills Memorial was able to dem-
onstrate substantial progress on
the operational side of things, the
amount of that grant, "plus infla-
tion", should become a part of the
base funding. In other words, a
part of the hospital's. annual
budget.

In February, only five ‘months
after Walker’s final recommenda-
tion was filed, Mills Memorial
wrote a letter to the ministry
outlining "substantial" progress in
most areas identified by Walker.
And, according to Leisinger, "We
should feel confident and comfort-
able that the money is ours.”

- But it didn’t happen. The
$145,375 was not included in the
1992/93 budget allotment.
Instead, the Ministry of Health

sent their Team 5 management ~

group to Terrace to examine our
hospital and decide if the progress
indicated in the society's February
letter actually took place.

Team § began their work at
Mills Memorial yesterday. It is
presumed their findings will con-
firm the society's claim of sub-
stantial ‘progress, and the

$145,375 "plus inflation” will be
tacked onto the Mills Memorial.
provincial operational allotment

for the current year and every

year thereafter.

Tie still leaves Mills Memor-
ial with an unaddressed budget

dilemma, however, Realistically,
it only catches them up to last
year, while at the same time the
Health Labour Relations Associ-—
ation, with a bottom line set by
the provincial government, has
already agreed to a new contract
for nurses worth around 5% in
wage increases and is still negoti-
ating with the Hospital Em-
ployees’ Union, who is asking for
35% more in wages and benfits
over three years.

Add to that escalating costs
for. supplies and the problem
multiplies. Drugs for example,
cost about 25% more on average
in 1990 than they did in 1989.
The cost jumped another 25% in
1991 compred to 1990. And with -
pending federal legislation pro-
tecting major patents, drugs are
expected to cost about 35% more
in 1992 than they did in 1991. ._,

_The problem with drugs. is .
much the same as computer soft-
ware, As soon as they get you
hooked on one, they release some-
thing that’s 10 times better.

So it’s easy to see how the .
problem for a hospital operating
on a .0% budget increase can
quickly become an impossible
situation. If, for example, a mir-
acle cure for AIDS was discovered
tomorrow, Mills Memorial Hospi-.
tal might be left with a difficult:
choice: send all their patients to
Vancouver for treatment, or close
the kitchen to pay for the drugs.”

Actual operational expendi-
tures at Mills Memorial Hospital .
in the 1991/92 fiscal year were
$11,926 million. Mills Memorial
administration fairly accurately
predicted a 4% inflationary
increase in the 1992/93 fiscal
year, which meant it would cost

about $12.4 million simply to

maintain existing services.

_ Terrace Review — May 8, 1992