Hospitals' cash crisis an emergency

All but one of the state's 23 regional health services were in the red as of September, 2023.

Grampians Health notched a $25.26 million deficit, Albury Wodonga Health $22.24 million, Bendigo Health $15 million, and Warrnambool-based South West Healthcare $6.31 million.

Gippsland Southern Health was the only service in the black, with a $60,000 surplus.

Left unabated, the system is on track to post a $2.8 billion deficit.

That's more than the new taxes and cost savings the government introduced this financial year to repay the state's huge COVID-19 debt would raise in a year.

Sobering indeed.

The public health system is not supposed to turn a profit, it is there to help us in vulnerable moments. But with deficits as large as these, will the system be there to help us when we need it?

How has this happened?

A state government spokesperson could offer no reason for the huge budget shortfalls other than "higher than expected demand".

Is demand higher now than during the COVID-19 pandemic?

As we revealed, hospitals didn't receive their actual budgets until late January, seven months into the new financial year and that wouldn't help. Have hospitals been operating in the dark? Why has the government taken so long?

The health system's unprecedented financial position prompted the government to introduce significant cost saving initiatives. But the government would not outline the measures.

The government has failed to rule out service and staff cuts. Reducing surgeries is not the answer because wait lists will only continue to grow and delaying procedures will only add strain to other areas, GPs, allied health professionals and demand for medications.

So, how will the deficits be reined in?

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas and the government need to come clean. Denying the issue is not the answer. Saying nothing only leaves a vacuum of worry, which will undermine confidence in the system and the government. Yet again, this government needs to provide answers.