NDP Leader Claudia Chender said provincial health officials had been given permission not to create a business plan for 2022-23, and noted that no subsequent plans were posted online. He said there was a lack of public accountability among health authorities.
During question period in parliament Thursday, Chender said an access-to-information request regarding the business plan was answered saying the Nova Scotia Health Authority had been granted permission not to produce the document.
The Health Authority Act requires a document to be prepared and submitted annually to the Minister of Health, which includes annual operating costs, coordination with local health boards, and public participation plans.
Chender told reporters that not having a plan available to the public means the public can't assess the Nova Scotia Health Authority's progress. Plans for 2023-24 and 2024-25 have not yet been announced.
“All we can do is listen to the Prime Minister rebut every negative question and tell him things are getting better when clearly they are not,” she said.
“The Prime Minister can say the sky is green, but that's not true.”
Health Minister Michelle Thompson said that, to her knowledge, all legal and policy requirements have been met, although no business plan has been developed for 2022-23.
Thompson said officials faced a number of tasks at the time related to addressing the government's health care program, as well as responding to the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
“I think 22-23 was a little bit abnormal,” she told reporters.
Thompson said she doesn't know why the two most recent business plans haven't been posted online yet, but they have been submitted to her department and approved.
A Nova Scotia Ministry of Health spokesperson said a version of the 2022-23 business plan was not submitted to the minister until last April.
”[G]”Given the timing of the business planning cycle, there is no longer a need to finalize plans for that year as work has moved into the next fiscal year,” Jennifer Levandowski said in a statement.
Lewandowski said the 2023-24 business plan should be published online within 30 days, but the 2024-25 plan has not yet been finalized.
“July is the right time. Contact us to get the link.”
“It hasn’t improved.”
But Chender said it appears to be in the government's interest not to publish the plan in a timely manner, if at all. He pointed out that despite the government's record spending on health care, it is not achieving the results that people expect.
“Health care is rapidly deteriorating. Fewer people are working in primary care, emergency rooms are closing more often. Whatever the metrics, the situation is not improving.”
Mr Thompson said he was confident the health authority was operating in a transparent manner. Data on the health care system is published online, and Thompson and other top officials travel around the state meeting with the public and answering questions, he said.
When the Conservatives came to power, they sacked the health authority's board and sacked its CEO, replacing it with a political appointee.
“We did say the day after we formed the government that we would have a health leadership team for a period of time,” Thompson said.
System in transition
That team also includes interim CEO Karen Oldfield, a tag she has held since taking over more than two years ago. Thompson said there are no plans to change that designation at this time.
“The position is not permanent and any of us currently in these roles can be said to be interim. If you think about it that way, I would probably be interim health minister. ”
The system is in transition and Ms Thompson said what was important to her was that Ms Oldfield was doing the job the government wanted her to do “to move the health system forward”.
“She is an important and effective member of the health team.”
