If Victorian hospitals need more funding 'we will do so', Premier Jacinta Allan says
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Premier Jacinta Allan said if needed, the Victorian government would put more money aside for health sector budgets this year.
The government has asked public health services to find savings, resulting in recruitment freezes and warnings of cuts to services.
What's next?
The premier said health budgets would be finalised in the coming weeks.
Premier Jacinta Allan has softened her government's tough stance on reining in hospital spending, promising to pour extra money into healthcare to prevent patient care being compromised.
For weeks, hospitals have been warning the government's efforts to squeeze budgets would have a dire effect on patient care with bed closures and cancelled surgeries being considered.
Hospitals have also put a freeze on recruitment while budgets are negotiated with the health department.
Senior government figures have privately said there is a need to instil more fiscal discipline on hospitals who were given extra money to deal with the pandemic.
The premier has previously lashed out at "scaremongering", after health sector bodies warned proposed budget cuts would result in less frontline staff and the winding back of planned surgeries.
Speaking to ABC Radio Melbourne, Ms Allan said final decisions on hospital budgets would be made in coming weeks but the government would look at extra cash.
"If government needs to provide additional funding as we work through this budget-setting process with hospitals, then we will do so, because we are firmly focused on patient care,'' Ms Allan said.
"I'm really firmly focused on supporting the best patient care and the way we do that is to look at how we stabilise and provide sustainable budgets going forward."
Letter warns of the dire consequences of cost-cutting
In a letter seen by ABC Radio Melbourne, senior doctors representing major hospitals wrote to Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas warning of the devastating impacts budget cuts would have on patient care, such as bed closures, cancelled surgeries and longer wait times.
"While we acknowledge the necessity of managing finite resources, we are worried about the potential negative impacts of these cuts on patient safety, access to services, staff morale, and overall trust in the public health system,'' the Committee of Chairs of Public Hospital Senior Medical Staff Associations said.
"The proposed budgetary constraints threaten our ability to provide safe and effective care to Victoria's growing population, with even less capacity to flex in the face of major disasters or future pandemics. Service closures, reductions in staff, cancellation of planned surgery activities, increased waiting times and inability to access specialist care pose a direct threat to patient safety and will lead to preventable adverse outcomes."
The letter warned vulnerable populations were the most likely to suffer and that staff were more likely to be subject to abuse and assaults due to frustrated, and desperate, patients seeking help.
Hospital operators urge government to hold 'meaningful' conversations
Leigh Clarke, CEO of the Victorian Healthcare Association — the state's peak public health service body — welcomed the premier's comments.
"I think now it’s about having a really meaningful conversation about where there are opportunities to support services but to minimise the risk for patient care across Victoria," she said.
Ms Clarke said health services had faced financial challenges through the pandemic, but these had continued due to a range of inflationary pressures.
Current cost-cutting measures had gone well beyond tackling any waste or duplication in the system, she said.
She called for budget negotiations to be realistic about what could be achieved in a one-year cycle.
"We know that budgets will continue to be negotiated over the next few weeks and we encourage the Victorian government to continue to have really meaningful discussions and listen to the concerns of the sector," she said.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) Victoria also welcomed the possibility of more funding, with a note of caution.
"We do remain deeply concerned about the current and possible future impacts on patients and healthcare workers that are arising from the way that this fiscal constraint process is being delivered and the uncertainty and distress that it's created," its president and doctor Jill Tomlinson said.
Dr Tomlinson also said clear conversations were needed to target priority areas for funding.
"We definitely need to ensure that every dollar that is spent on health is spent in an efficient and sustainable way, but we also must ensure that health services are adequately funded to provide safe and quality care to Victorians," she said.
Youth crime summit due to be held this week
The premier returned from a week-long holiday last week and has been confronted with political problems in healthcare and youth justice.
Ministers are due to meet with police, officials and stakeholders this week to look at ways to tackle youth crime, with the premier saying "we clearly need to do more."
"We need to listen,'' Ms Allan said.
She also backed Police Minister Anthony Carbines who last week called on the courts to uphold community expectations when it came to bail, saying where they could, judges should explain their decisions more.