The Yukon Party is questioning the territorial government on reductions in surgeries and imaging procedures in December 2023 and January 2024, and cuts to hospital funding in the proposed 2024-25 budget.

Health critic Brad Cathers raised the issue Tuesday in the legislature.

“We have repeatedly raised concerns about the Liberal government’s chronic underfunding of Yukon hospitals, which the minister always dismisses, claiming that everything is fine,” Cathers said.

“(Tuesday) morning, CBC revealed documents acquired through access to information showing how deep those cuts went — quote: ‘In the surgical services department, the (Yukon Hospital) corporation slashed elective surgeries by a third, by taking operating rooms temporarily out of service from mid-December.’

“They also revealed that 14 physicians and surgeons wrote to the premier and ministers to express disappointment and anger,” Cathers added.

“The minister of health has tried to downplay these cuts, but it’s clear that they had a big impact on Yukon patients.

“Does the minister now acknowledge that these service cuts were a direct result of the Liberal government’s chronic underfunding of our hospitals?”

Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee retorted, “No, of course, I will not acknowledge that, because it is not the actual case. The Government of Yukon is providing additional funding and did ensure that the Yukon Hospital Corporation (YHC) could address the immediate pressures impacting surgeries, potentially, and medical imaging, potentially, and those programs in the territory back in December 2023.”

McPhee added, “The government at the time worked collaboratively with the Yukon Medical Association (YMA) and the Yukon Hospital Corporation to ensure that the services were maintained and were returned to the previously anticipated levels from that point on.”

Cathers responded by quoting the letter: “‘We are concerned that the hospital administration, and your government, are not aware of the potentially dire impacts such cuts will have for our patients and your constituents. The intention of this letter is to lay out the high stakes of such shortsighted cuts, as they are likely to cost the Yukon’s health care system more in the long run than they are immediately worth.’”

Cathers then asked, “Does the minister now recognize that the Liberal government’s chronic underfunding of our hospitals is actually causing long-term damage to our health care system?”

McPhee repeated that the government worked with the YMA and the YHC “to ensure that the regularly scheduled slowdown of surgical services occurred but that no additional concerns with respect to imaging or surgical services were cut at that time.”

Cathers then cited a report on the Yukon medical system commissioned by Premier Ranj Pillai.

“I remind her that the Ernst & Young report shows four years of chronic underfunding.”

Opposition Leader Currie Dixon then had a go at McPhee.

“The 2024-25 budget includes over $14 million less O&M (operations and maintenance) funding than was actually provided to the hospital corporation last year,” he said.

“So, what assurances can the minister provide to Yukoners that what happened last year won’t happen again this year?”

McPhee cited the working relationship her government has with the YHC and YMA, as well as nursing associations.

“We work together constantly to make sure that the proper funding is available to the Yukon Hospital Corporation and more importantly that Yukoners are served by the best hospital system — perhaps in Canada.”

Dixon repeated his question to McPhee.

“Can the minister assure Yukoners that we won’t see the types of sweeping cuts to the hospital services again this year?”

After citing previous Yukon Party governments’ track record regarding health care, McPhee replied, “Can we fund the hospital better? We can, and through budget 2024-25, we will.”

Dixon met with reporters following question period.

“So what Yukoners learned (Tuesday) morning from the CBC report and the ATIPPing of several documents from the hospital corporation was that it was well known back in November, December the extent to which the service reductions and cuts that we saw at the hospital last fall would impact Yukon patients,” he said.

“That was known to the hospital administration, to medical professionals and to the Liberal government.

“Obviously, there’s the concern of what happened last year, but what we want to see is that not happen again,” Dixon added.

“This year, the Liberal government has provided less money than was provided to the hospital corporation than last year.”

The Yukon Party pointed out that in the proposed 2024-25 budget, the 2023-24 forecast was $124,789,000. The 2024-25 estimate is $110,413,000, more than $10 million less.

Dixon also said the government had to increase the health budget last fall in the supplementary budget by $17 million, then raised it by another $13 million.

Dixon cited Dr. Rao Tadepalli as a health professional and former YMA president with grave concerns about the health care system.

“We heard him on the radio (Tuesday) morning, saying that he thought that the healthcare system was crumbling.

“In the CBC article, he specifically said that the reason the service reductions occurred last fall were a direct result of chronic underfunding.”

Dixon added his party is concerned “about the direction things are going, and that the Liberals haven’t learned from their mistakes last year.”

Dixon was asked about McPhee’s assertion that the health care system is perhaps the best in Canada.

“I have no idea how she can justify that, especially on the heels of the kinds of service reductions we saw just a few months ago in November and December,” the Yukon Party leader said.

“We saw wait times for MRIs increase, CT scans increase. The wait time for mammographies got significantly higher. The wait list for surgeries increased.

“So if that’s what the minister thinks is success, I’m very worried for the direction of the health care system and her leadership.”

McPhee told reporters that service reductions were avoided.

A Dec. 12, 2023 new released “indicated that this was not a solution that we were prepared to accept, and that the hospital corporation understood, and we were working with them and the medical association,” McPhee noted.

“It takes some co-ordination, which it did, and we were able to avoid the slowdowns that were anticipated.”

McPhee said the funding was made available immediately after the government was advised of the situation.

“We said no (to service cuts) flowed them the money immediately so that that wouldn’t need to happen and took them to year-end (March 31).”

She was asked to what extent 2023 service cuts added to hospital wait lists.

“They didn’t, because they weren’t cut,” she responded.

“They said that this was an option. We said that we didn’t agree with that being an option. They said they needed more funding for it to not happen. We agreed. We provided the funding.”

McPhee was then queried about the $14-million difference between last year’s health care spending and this year’s estimate.

“That $14 million were one-time costs and payments that were made to the hospital corporation in 2023-24 for things that are not going to reoccur this year,” the minister said.

“They gave us a number. That’s the number that’s in the budget.”

As cited by the Yukon Party, the core health care funding is approximately $110 million.

McPhee said the higher costs of cancer medication, chemotherapy, more people seeking services at the Whitehorse General Hospital, and nursing shortages necessitating the hiring of agency nurses were responsible for the increase in funding in 2023-24.

On agency nurses, McPhee said, “We anticipate a reduction for this year, which is why the budget from the hospital is what it is.”

As for calling the territory’s system potentially the nation’s best, McPhee said, “We have unprecedented individuals who are prepared to provide service for Yukoners in this hospital system.

“We have a hospital system that is extremely well-funded. We have an excellent relationship between the hospital corporation and the medical association and the Yukon government.”

Addressing Tadepalli’s criticism of her, McPhee said, “I don’t agree with his comments.

“I know that he has concerns and I know that he comes from a well-meaning place and that he wants services improved, and we both want the same thing.”