Looming job cuts at HealthShare Victoria as staff meetings called to address ‘budget pressure’

Staff at HealthShare Victoria — responsible for procuring the state’s medical supplies — are bracing for job losses in a cost cutting move branded a plot line from Utopia by a key union.

Workers at the state’s medical supplies purchasing agency are bracing for mass job losses on Thursday.

Staff at HealthShare Victoria – a service that bulk-buys medical supplies and distributes them to hospitals – are expecting to be told that positions will be cut statewide.

The move comes ahead of the state government budget, but a spokesman denied ­financial pressure was the reasoning, and instead claimed the agency was being reduced to its pre-pandemic size.

However, the Victorian Public Sector hit back, saying cuts to the agency were “stupidity” and like a plot from the political satire show Utopia.

HealthShare Victoria staff fear job cuts. Picture: Supplied

Multiple HealthShare ­Victoria staff anonymously ­revealed that management had been booking in “chats” with staff across the state starting from Thursday.

Staff were told the meetings were in regard to “budget pressures” but management remained tight-lipped on how many redundancies would be needed and which staff would lose their jobs.

It’s understood agency ­employees across the state are at risk, including workers ­stationed in hospital purchasing units.

The Herald Sun revealed in November that hospitals were told to slash costs by millions of dollars and dramatically overhaul administration services as the government continues to grapple with mounting debt.

Community Public Sector Union secretary Karen Batt.

They were told that certain functions including procurement and administration would now be shared across health services.

At least one major hospital has already been told it can no longer purchase from suppliers but now must use HSV.

Community Public Sector Union secretary Karen Batt said the union was aware of ­potential job losses, adding: “Stupidity reigns supreme here. Why cut the very people who generate millions in savings for hospitals each year? Is this an episode of Utopia?

“Cuts will be counter-productive and only hurt families who are facing cost-of-living pressures,” she said.

“A rethink is required immediately and warranted when they’re hiring consultants simultaneously.”

A Victorian government spokesman said: “During the pandemic, HealthShare Victoria’s role expanded and now we are taking it back to its original role of boosting our purchasing power to lower the cost of critical health supplies for hospitals to ensure we are spending taxpayer dollars responsibly and avoiding waste.”

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said: “These pending job losses are another causality of the parlous state of Victoria’s budget.”

HealthShare Victoria (previously Health Purchasing Victoria) was formed under the Andrews government in January 2021 to develop a single statewide supply chain for critical health supplies, after there were shortages of basic items when Covid started.