Elective surgeries, beds at risk as Monash Health struggles with crippling budget cuts

Victoria’s largest public health service may be forced to shut beds on wards and cancel all weekend elective surgeries to meet brutal state government budget demands but Premier Jacinta Allan has dismissed growing alarm as “scaremongering”.

Premier Jacinta Allan says leaked emails from hospitals warning about looming closures aren’t reflective of current discussions.

Health services are preparing to submit their savings plans to the Department of Health on Friday, but whistleblowers have sounded the alarm on the drastic action they’ve been asked to take as the Allan government tries to rein in soaring debt.

The Herald Sun revealed Monash Health was actively considering shutting beds on wards and cancelling all weekend elective surgeries in order to meet the budget demands, while Northern and Western Health had both imposed immediate hiring freezes.

Insiders have revealed that Victoria’s largest public health service believes the move to cut beds is critical to helping reduce staffing costs, but acknowledges it will significantly impact care delivery.

One source at the service – which includes Monash Medical Centre, Monash Children’s Hospital, Victorian Heart Hospital, Casey Hospital and Dandenong Hospital – said that “everything was on the table” when it came to reducing costs.

On Thursday, Ms Allan said the government, through the Department of Health, was still working with hospitals to set forward budgets.

“Absolutely no final decisions have been made on these budgets so for emails to be sent out … that does not reflect where discussions are between hospitals and the Department, nor where the government has approved final hospital budgets,” she said.

Asked to guarantee that no beds would close as a result of the budget pressures, Ms Allan said: “No final decisions have been made because there are still discussions that are going on. Hospitals are yet to submit their draft budgets. Any speculation is just that. Speculation and scaremongering, particularly by Liberal politicians”.

Ms Allan said the government had recently delivered its biggest investment to the health system.

As Victorian hospitals face crippling budget cuts, several services are enacting hiring freezes. Picture: Andy Brownbill

The Herald Sun has been told at least one major hospital in Melbourne is looking at having to find more than $100m in cost savings that several services across the state are enacting hiring freezes.

Health insiders have also said some hospitals were considering selling assets.

AMA Victoria President Dr Jillian Tomlinson said there was a lot of “uncertainty” in the sector.

“Certainly, we have heard from multiple health services that there will be reductions in elective surgery arising from the directives,” Dr Tomlinson said.

“The directives were not specifically related to elective surgery, but the measures that health services are taking to rein in budgets include ceasing weekend and high intensity lists.

“There are also questions around the elective surgery hubs around the state in terms of what extent they will continue operating.”

When asked about bed reductions, Ms Tomlinson confirmed hospitals were enacting hiring freezes and that with already concerning levels of job vacancies beds would be closed.

“Because there are vacancies across the state and healthcare workers shortages. I anticipate that there will be reductions in bed numbers, and particularly across winter when we have staff taking time off.”

A source says ‘everything is on the table’ when it came to reducing costs. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Hospitals are also being told to not enter into “above award” arrangements, which will impact the ability of regional hospitals to recruit specialists.

Sources revealed that multiple hospitals were also facing shortfalls or massive deficits under the current budgets

Amid the concerns that elective surgery being reduced and frontline services being cut, insiders have revealed that the state may be planning a backflip on its promise to not issue any extra funds.

It is understood they may provide top-up funding to some hospitals but will award them under grants or health system reform payments to services facing higher demand.

In relation to cost cutting measures being considered a Monash spokesman said: “Monash Health’s annual budget is currently being developed in close consultation with the Department of Health to deliver the care our community needs”.

A source close to the goverment said they would never ask hospitals to reduce surgery or close beds, adding that budget action plans would eliminate duplication and corporate waste such as large PR teams or sending executive staff overseas for professional development.

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