Like other health care providers, St John of God Health Care has recognised the financial imperative to reshape in order to provide a foundation for future growth. This is in the context of the slower than anticipated return of patient volumes and increases in operating costs, including consumables, wages, insurances and interest rates.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Bryan Pyne, said the identified savings would result in the reduction of around 200 positions and impact approximately 160 people, noting the changes are designed to not affect services, with patient safety and service excellence remaining the utmost priority.
Mr Pyne said the organisation had commenced a period of consultation with employees and that the intended reductions would affect about 1 per cent of St John of God Health Care’s 16,500 strong workforce. Some of the reductions may be achieved by removing vacant roles, reducing caregiver hours, and merging or removing roles.
The expected impact on patient-facing caregiver roles, such as nurses, would be minimal, with less than 10 positions identified as being providers of patient care.
“In some instances, voluntary reduction in hours or redundancies may be offered and any vacant positions have already been placed on a recruitment freeze,” he said.
Mr Pyne said the operational review is aimed at reshaping the organisation to meet the evolving health care needs.
“We will continue to explore ways to align our services and improve efficiencies while continuing to maintain patient and staff safety.
“We will continue to recruit to clinical and specialist positions, such as theatre nurses and midwives, and to undertake thorough change impact assessments to ensure patient safety and the patient experience is unaltered.
“We have previously outlined that over a period of 12 months, we would conduct an organisation-wide review to reshape our organisation so it can meet the changing health care needs of our communities.
“These changes are designed to not impact the delivery of our services, patient care and, most importantly, safety and quality.
“The safety of our patients, clients, and caregivers is critical and we will ensure that our impacted employees are fully supported through this process.
“It is difficult to make decisions that impact our dedicated workforce but St John of God Health Care, like other health providers, must navigate the significant challenges both during and post-COVID, including rising costs.
“We need to ensure this important organisation, which began in WA 125 years ago, remains sustainable in today’s environment.”