Stew Slater, St. Marys Journal Argus

An attempt by the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance to tie remuneration of top executives to quality-of-care objectives was scuttled by last spring’s provincial budget.

Last year, in keeping with a recommendation from its audit committee, the alliance board of directors approved a plan to have CEO Andrew Williams and a group of about a half-dozen senior executives receive their full level of compensation only if a series of quality parameters were met.

Under that plan, Williams could have potentially lost five per cent of his approved pay if performance objectives were not met, while other executives stood to lose up to three per cent. A recommendation earlier this year called for those numbers to be increased, with Williams moving to seven per cent and five per cent for the others.

That plan, however, is now on hold after the latest budget froze executive salaries in the health care sector. That measure includes changes like what was being proposed by the alliance.