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Damning report on Yukon Hospital Corporation points finger at Health and Social Services

Thursday, 7 December 2023 10:42

Whitehorse General Hospital is one of three hospitals under the YHC, including community hospitals in Watson Lake and Dawson City

The 18-page report reveals chronic under-funding of the Yukon's three hospitals and lack of collaboration with the Health department

The Government of Yukon this week released an independent report on the financial state of Yukon Hospital Corporation more than a month after receiving it.

The 18-page document says Yukon Hospital Corporation (YHC), -- which is responsible for three hospitals in the territory and receives 80 per cent of its funding from the Yukon Government – has suffered from chronic underfunding for years.

The report points to poor accounting practices, inaccurate budgeting, and “almost non-existent collaboration” with Health and Social Services, the department that oversees the corporation and is responsible for hospital policies.

“A lack of continuity” in Health and Social Services staffing during the “past five to ten years” is also a culprit in the overall crisis facing the corporation, it says.

The report goes on to say the department did not address ‘root causes’ nor facilitate solutions when they were alerted of the Hospital Corporation’s deficit.

Overall, the Government of Yukon showed a lack of accountability in its management of the Yukon Hospital Corporation, it says.

Last year, the hospital corporation used $7.3 million dollars in capital funds intended for the construction of a $28 million Mental Wellness Unit in Whitehorse. It used the capital funds to pay off a deficit of $7.6 million.

The ‘Governance and financial management review of the Yukon Hospital Corporation’ was conducted by Ernst and Young in July.

The independent review was requested by the Government of Yukon after it learned of the corporation’s un-authorized spending of capital monies to dig itself out of debt.

The review doubles as a tool to help prepare the government as it transitions Yukon’s healthcare system into a Health Authority with an annual budget of $300 million. The Yukon Hospital Corporation’s annual budget is approximately $80 million. 

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