There are reports that the provincial government is planning to dissolve most of, if not all, of the Local Health Integration Networks that oversee healthcare operating funding in the province.
According to a CBC report, Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are looking at dissolving the 14 LIHNs across the province and have them replaced by no more than five regional oversight bodies, to monitor spending by hospitals and long-term care homes.
The LIHNs were established by the McGuinty Liberals in 2007 and according to a recent auditor general report, cost roughly $90 million a year to operate.
Provincial Health Minister Christine Elliott, who is expected to be in Belleville for a mental health fact finding trip on Friday, hasn’t yet officially announced the decision.
A spokesperson for the Southeast LIHN, which covers the Quinte Region, says since no formal announcement has been made, they are directing all questions to the ministry.
