Ensuring that “public health units will be included in the planning” of the reorganization so that “the needs of our local communities are met.”
That from Dale Jewitt, Chair of the Huron County Board of Health, reacting to the plans announced by Ontario in its budget last week to establish ten regional public health entities and ten new regional boards of health with one common governance model in the province by 2020-2021.
Officials with the HCBH and the Perth District Health Unit add that along with the plan is a provincial budget impact to public health of $220 million over the next two years.
They say that, at this time, it’s unknown how the provincial budget announcement will impact the planned merger of the two health units, which becomes effective January 1st, 2020.
In the budget, the PC government says “the current structure of Ontario’s public health units does not allow for consistent service delivery, could be better coordinated with the broader system and better aligned with current government priorities.”
