This release was issued under a previous government.
“Earlier this year, I requested that Dr. John Cowell, Official Administrator (OA) at AHS, undertake a review of compensation paid to senior executives to ensure salaries are fair and are of good value to taxpayers.
“The purpose of this review is to ensure that compensation paid to senior management is fair, comparable to amounts paid in the public health care sector in other provinces, and transparent. Government also stipulated that compensation was to include no pay-at-risk, bonuses or other incentives.
“As a government our role is to ensure that decisions made in our health system put patients and front-line workers first. A review of the organizational structure at AHS last summer saw the number of vice presidents at AHS reduced from 80 to approximately 10. This change ensured that going forward, AHS management is clearly focused on providing frontline health care staff with the tools, resources and support they need to deliver quality patient care. The review released today completes this process by bringing AHS compensation in line with other provinces and ensuring transparency.
“The new compensation structure is expected to result in approximately $4 million in savings. A job evaluation process now underway will result in 15 fewer senior leadership jobs. The salary ranges are set at mid-range for public sector healthcare executives in Canada and helps AHS keep adminstrative expenses among the lowest in Canada at approximately 3.3 percent.
“This review does not impact the pay of front-line health care professionals. Doctors, nurses and others will remain the best paid in Canada.”