Good afternoon, Madam. I'd like to thank you for having given us a really good snapshot of the array of services provided to veterans. It was a good basic summary, especially since I'm just getting up to speed on this file.
Yesterday, we discussed the budget with the minister, which totals about $3.4 billion; it has not gone up much. I read that that there was a call to reduce the budget forecast by $24 million, by way of rationalizing services. So there would be an attempt to provide more services with less money. Given that we are currently engaged in the conflict in Afghanistan, I imagine that the demand for health care services, whether it be for post-traumatic stress disorder or injuries, will actually increase. And yet, we're being asked to rationalize. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
I'm thinking most specifically about Sainte-Anne Hospital. The hospital is being asked to cut its spending by $2.3 million this year. How are these cutbacks going to affect the quality of care clients receive?
In Quebec, for example, there were 39 or 40 area counsellors covering Quebec City, Montreal, and most of the regions. I observed that the caseload, i.e. the number of clients per health care professional or case manager, was quite high. The caseload is also high when it comes to the traditional clientele, as you call them in your document.
The average case manager's caseload is around 600 traditional clients. I have some roots in that community because in a previous life, I was a social worker in a CLSC. I compared this caseload with the caseload I had back then, and I found it to be quite high.
Is the service delivery model working? Have services been streamlined? Are those working in the field and providing health care services happy, and by this I mean the case managers, nurses, and other professionals? Can cutbacks be made without there being a major impact on service delivery?