Kingston’s Addiction and Mental Health Services restructuring to include more layoffs

After months of inspection by a province-appointed supervisor, Addiction and Mental Health Services-Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (AMHS-KFLA), has announced a significant restructuring.

In December of last year, the South East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) named Karen Berti as the agency’s new supervisor after two of its top executives left their posts. The LHIN then unseated the board of directors so that Berti could take full control of the organization.

A LHIN investigation of AMHS-KFLA, which began in late 2017, alleged that AMHS-KFLA had “significant clinical, financial, leadership and accountability concerns.”

The report, which outlined several financial issues with the agency, will be the focus of a “transformation plan” announced on Tuesday that is set to be implemented over the next nine months.

According to a new release sent out by AMHS-KFLA on Tuesday, the transformation plan “will result in changes to the workforce, which include both elimination of positions and creation of new positions that support the future vision of our new models of care and service delivery.”

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When Berti was first appointed late last year, several employees were laid off due to the transfer of the organization’s shared services office from Kingston to Belleville. Now, the Kingston office will face more cuts.

WATCH (Nov. 28, 2018): Top executives no longer part of KFLA Addiction and Mental Health Services

1:01 Top executives no longer part of KFLA Addiction and Mental Health Services

AMHS-KFLA will be eliminating 39 full-time and three part-time positions, the majority of which are not health-care-related. The agency will then hire 30 new full-time positions, with a focus on attracting health-care professionals.

The agency added that other part-time and casual positions will be created but did not specify how many.

During this transition, the agency said it will work to ensure that the services it provides to its approximately 8,000 clients will be not be interrupted.