Why a HIP?
The directive to develop a Hospital Improvement Plan
The Niagara Health System (NHS) received from the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network (HNHB LHIN) a directive to develop a Hospital Improvement Plan (HIP) to be submitted by July 15, 2008. The directive was issued to the NHS because the NHS was unable to meet the performance obligation of achieving a balanced budget for the year ended March 31, 2008, ending the year with a $17.9 million deficit on a $370 million budget.
According to the letter, “The HIP should be a clinical services plan that ensures that the necessary expertise and resources are available to provide accessible, quality care for the citizens of Niagara, identifies current and future hospital-based services by site, establishes timeframes and specific targets for each year of the HIP, links the proposed strategies of the HIP and the public interest and achieves a balanced operating budget by 2011/12.”
Despite continued efforts over the last number of years to balance, and despite the fact that NHS is a very efficient organization as validated by the recent third party review by Health Care Management (HCM) consultants, we continue to forecast a significant deficit of over $15 million in each of the next two years.
In addition to our financial challenges, it is increasingly recognized that the status quo in hospital service is no longer sustainable in Niagara. Many factors are forcing change including the increase in chronic disease, the shortage of family doctors and other primary care providers in our region, fewer and fewer doctors, nurses and health professionals who specialize in specific areas of care, changes in technology and changes in funding formulas by the provincial government.