Hip, Knees and Transparency

February 2, 2006

Hip, Knees and Transparency

Hundreds of people will benefit from the government's announcement of $60.5 million for hip and knee replacement surgery. Many might ask why this wasn't done years ago but in fairness the experiments on streamlined procedures and more efficient use of operating rooms are very new. The financial side of the government's news release is a little harder to understand. It breaks the funding down as follows:

A new Centre for Surgical Innovation at UBC Hospital - $25 million in 2006/07 to support dedicated operating rooms to help clear patient backlogs for hip and knee surgery.
Additional funding to immediately address existing backlogs - $25 million in 2005/06 for health authorities across the province to immediately increase the number of surgeries with a focus on joint replacement surgery.
A Provincial Surgical Patient Registry - $5 million to create and implement a provincewide patient registry developed by the Provincial Health Services Authority and all health authorities to help better manage the surgical backlog.
A Research Centre for Hip Health at Vancouver General Hospital - $5.5 million from the Ministry of Advanced Education.

Fiscal year 2005/06 ends on March 31, 59 days from the date of the announcement, yet $25 million is to be spent in that time while that is the same amount that is allocated for the full 12 month fiscal year 2006/07. The government should be considerably more transparent and explain how $25 million can be adequate for twelve months if that is what they plan to spend in 59 days. The Health Authorities operate on the same fiscal year as the government; they cannot carry surpluses over between fiscal years. Or can they? Does the government use different accounting rules for different situations? A good news announcement shouldn't be ruined by a government that refuses to be transparent about how money is spent by health authorities.