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Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) says it is reducing its staff by 10 per cent due to a budget shortfall.
One-time funding from the acute pandemic phase allowed the organization to redeploy 75 to 78 per cent of its staff to a COVID-19 response and hire additional numbers. That increase to its base budget was limited and did not keep up with rising costs.
“We have had to make difficult decisions,” Dr. Miriam Klassen, medical officer of health for Huron and Perth, said in a statement Wednesday.
“We have spent the past year decreasing program expenses in a variety of ways; however, most of our budget is for human resources. We had to make the difficult decision to remove positions from the organization.”
HPPH is removing 13.5 positions through early retirements, layoffs and ending of temporary staff contracts. Positions will be removed from several areas of the health unit, including management.
Programs and services HPPH provides to the community will be impacted. It will look to its 2024-2027 strategic plan to determine their future delivery.
“Public health in Ontario is heading into a transitional time,” said Klassen. “Public health structure, funding and mandates are under review. We expect New Ontario Public Health Standards to be implemented in 2025, and a new funding approach to be implemented in 2026.”
HPPH will continue to participate in the consultation process for those initiatives, according to its statement. Changes are expected to take place by January 2024.
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