St John faces significant financial challenges this coming financial year (1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021) requiring up to $30 million of cost savings to offset the organisation’s increasingly large deficit as it navigates its way through the exceptional challenges created, in part, by COVID-19.
“Our long-standing funding issues have been well-documented and, combined with the financial impact of COVID-19, we are now forced to undergo a significant programme of cost reductions,” says St John CEO Peter Bradley.
These cost savings will reach right across the organisation and we are doing everything we can to minimise job losses and impact to our patients and customers.
At this stage, 100 jobs will go from St John although we will minimise losses within the frontline ambulance service. At the same time, St John will be looking at making changes to its executive team as it looks to economic recovery.
Other cost savings measures the organisation will be making is removing personal-use cars (and where possible redirecting these to frontline use), stopping face to face frontline clinical education training for one year, freezing pay increases for those in senior roles (excluding those on a collective contract) and applying organisational pay restraint, scaling back on non-critical project delivery, significantly reducing travel and accommodation by up to 65% and reducing building lease costs while combining some workplaces.
We are doing everything possible to reduce the number of compulsory redundancies – staff have been obligated to take annual leave, job vacancies are being held open and we are reducing casual and contract roles. We are having constructive discussions with our staff as we work to protect St John’s future and retain the jobs that remain.
These are tough decisions and while it is regrettable, it’s important we take action now to responsibly manage St John through this difficult period to maintain a service that is fit for the future.
Please attribute to Peter Bradley, St John CEO.