Thursday, 1 August 2024

Hospital funding

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (18:52): (1029) My adjournment matter is for the attention of the Premier. Public hospitals across the state are facing severe financial constraints due to savage funding cuts by the Allan Labor government. Health services are under extreme financial pressure due to the dire situation of Victoria’s budget, as Labor’s debt is set to grow to a record $188 billion in just a couple of years time. Health funding has been cut by $21 for every single Victorian compared with the same time last year. In response to the government’s directives to cut costs, major hospitals have already implemented recruitment freezes, reduced elective surgery and delayed new capital works. Leaked tapes from senior health executives have told us what the cuts will mean to their services and the impact on the delivery of those services, such as the ability to have dialysis beds and special-care nursery cots and the shutting of theatres and closing of wards. They are going to have a direct impact on the ability to provide health care to many Victorians across the state.

The Minister for Health has demanded that hospitals tighten their spending and, in a letter sent to health services in May, advised that no further funding or bailouts would be provided, yet the Premier on ABC radio backflipped on that decision and said that she would provide some bailouts to hospitals. She said, ‘If we do need to provide more funding for hospitals … we will do so.’

The action I seek from the Premier is for her to come clean and provide the details of this top-up funding, in particular how much funding will be available, which health services will receive funding and when they can expect to receive this additional funding. They cannot plan at the moment. They are in limbo. They have provided budget submissions to the department; I know some of those have been rejected. This is a very significant issue, and it needs to be addressed. When the Premier says something, these hospital services want to know if they are hollow words or if she is going to provide the additional funding that will keep them going so that Victorians can get the care that they deserve and need.