Numerous meetings and personal communication over several years could be very good news for Quinte Health Care and its hospitals.
Today (Friday) Bay of Quinte riding MPP Todd Smith announced $5 million in “bridge” financing for QHC which will flow almost immediately.
This will help Quinte Health Care balance its books this fiscal year as at last count it was projecting an over $6 million deficit.
But as fellow local MPP Daryl Kramp said at the announcement at Trenton Memorial Hospital “this $5 million is not the end of it. This isn’t just a bandaid on a festering wound.”
Both Smith and Kramp said they’ve come to understand the unique challenges QHC management has running a multi-site (four hospitals) organization serving a large geographic area.
“We understand and acknowledge the funding issues and we will address them on a more permanent basis as our cabinet gets together to rework how the healthcare system is funded, not only here, but across the province. We know Quinte Health Care is being run as efficiently as possible” said Smith.
Quinte Health Care’s staff serve around 315,000 patients a year at its hospitals in Belleville, Trenton, Picton, and Bancroft.
Kramp said they heard QHC’s message regarding funding inequity loud and clear “and we’ve listened, learned and now we’re going to take action, no more maybes.”
Both the president of Quinte Health Care Mary Clare Egberts and chair of the board of directors Stuart Wright were delighted with the bridge funding and especially about expected permanent changes to the way the organization is funded going forward.
