Victorian patients at risk as hospitals run out of money

Public hospitals around the state are struggling to stay afloat, forcing them to consider cutting patient numbers, as shortfalls of between $20 and $35 million emerge.

Victoria’s public hospitals may be forced cut the number of patients they treat and blow out waiting lists amid claims of a health funding crisis in the Andrews Government.

After giving doctors big pay rises and increasing the number of nurses hospitals must employ, health services face being unable to pay growing wage bills.

Some major hospitals are facing shortfalls of between $20 and $35 million over the next year, based on Department of Health funding proposals.

The Herald Sun understands several health services will not be able to sign off statement of priorities agreements to be issued by the government in the coming weeks.

The annual agreements dictate the levels of funding and patient numbers each hospital is locked into over the next year.

With no extra money to meet increased wages, hospital sources told the Herald Sun they would have no option but to cut the number of patients being treated.

There are claims of a health funding crisis in the Andrews Government.

In what could become a major escalation of the dispute, the Australian Medical Association is preparing to take Victoria’s public health services to the Fair Work Commission, claiming doctors are not being paid for overtime or for entitlements because of a lack of funding.

Legal papers outlining alleged breaches of the EBA brokered by the Andrews Government in late 2017 are being finalised, however the AMA’s Victoria branch will need support from members later this month to begin the action.

“We are extremely concerned that hospitals are reporting they have insufficient funds to meet workplace obligations,” AMA Victoria president Professor Julian Rait said.

One health service source said the government’s massive $3.8 billion hospital building program — including a new Footscray and the expanded Frankston and Royal Children’s hospitals — was eating into the money for patients across the state.

A spokesman for Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said the Labor government had delivered record funding to each hospital in previous years, and would again when the 2019-20 agreements were released.

“We make no apologies for making sure our nurses and doctors get the fair deal that they deserve, because they’re the backbone of our health services that care for us when we need it the most,” he said.

AMA Victoria president Professor Julian Rait said it is concerning that hospitals are reporting they have insufficient funds to meet workplace obligations.

Premier Daniel Andrews said this morning the AMA was free to take action on behalf of its members, but would not comment on the specific issues raised.

“I want everybody in our health system, whether it be someone doing the cleaning, someone working in the kitchen, someone working as an orderly, admin staff, nurses, doctors, specialists, the works — everybody should be treated fairly and properly rewarded for the work that they do,” he said.

Asked about concerns from hospitals about funding shortfalls, Mr Andrews said that was “the sort of chatter that comes out of hospitals around this time of the year every single year”, as the state government worked on new budgets for the year to come.

He said that “noise” was “fine” but highlighted that the government had increased health funding by “a lazy 40 per cent in five years”.

“There’s some pressure there, there always is, but there’s more funding to employ more staff, to treat more patients and provide better care,” Mr Andrews said.

“That’s what we’ve done every year, and this year’s budget is no different, and I’ll give you the news flash - next year will be no different.”

The Premier said he would lobby the Morrison Government for extra cash after federal Labor’s election loss meant Victoria missed out on hundreds of millions of dollars in extra health funding.

In December 2017 the government awarded public hospital doctors pay rises of up to 19 per cent over 2018-22, following two years of frozen wages.

In February, the government introduced laws enshrining minimum nurse-patient ratios that required public hospitals to employ an extra 600 nurses and midwives.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the Andrews Government’s failure to manage the budget and fully fund hospitals was putting lives at risk.

“Daniel Andrews has again failed to provide adequate funding to Victorian hospitals, and again it will be Victorian patients who will be the losers with more services cut,” Ms Crozier said.

Last August, the AMA ­officially raised concerns the government had not given public hospitals enough funding to meet requirements of the new EBA for doctors.

MORE: HEALTH FUND PLAN TO BAN HIGH CHARGING DOCTORS

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WAITING TIMES AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

In a letter seen by the Herald Sun, Department of Health secretary Kym Peak confirmed additional funding was released to affected hospitals in April 2018 to cover the early impact of the agreements.

She said indexed funding provided to hospitals each year was intended to cover wages and salaries.

The Victorian Healthcare Association said it was not appropriate to comment on the issue until the SoP agreements were issued.

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