Health Budget Crunch
Monday 02 Nov 2015
The effects of this year’s terrible State health budget are starting to be felt across the system. Hospitals and health services are struggling with flat budgets and ever increasing operational costs.
How well the public health system is funded and managed is largely an outcome of political decisions. Like the union you can take these issues up with your local MP, the Minister, and or try and get the media interested. As your union we will continue to do just that.
The closure of Swan Districts Hospital and privatisation of Midland Hospital is a major contributor to the current problems within the system. We understand around 300 to 350 permanent staff are being displaced from SDH and will not be transferring to the new privatised Midland Hospital. Privatising jobs to Serco has also added to the problem.
Premier Colin Barnett's ill-timed budget cuts and statements about 'over-staffing', demonstrate a stunning failure to consult with key stakeholders. His comments that some staff refused to move from RPH and Fremantle, to Fiona Stanley Hospital are ill-informed and victim blaming of the first order.
The reconfiguration of health services south of the river in Perth has left Fremantle, RPH, and Fiona Stanley Hospital all in deficit and facing hard choices.
The three South Metro hospitals have been directed to get their budgets in order. The clear message from the State Government is that it will not put any more money into the health system, even though the increase in health spending this year was lower than at any time in living memory.
The State Government seems to believe that building a $ 2 billion hospital and then embarking on the biggest changes in the States health system in history, can be bedded down with budget cuts, and less staff.
Each of these hospitals is allocated a budget according to what is called a 'service level agreement'. This is the level of activity the hospital reports it will be able to deliver for the money it has been given. If the budget and activity do not match up then there needs to be adjustment to one or both. It is a challenge to get extra activity or generate extra revenue, which means the focus is on reducing costs.
The union have met SMHS Chief Executive Dr Robyn Lawrence and the Executive Directors at RPH and Fremantle. They advise that the budget management strategies should be finalised by the end of January. Consultation and implementation will follow from then until the end of the financial year. The direction from Government is that hospitals will have 'sustainable' budgets by June 2016.
We understand that the budget 'crunch' means department heads at Fremantle, RPH, and FSH are reviewing their already meagre budgets and being told to work out how they will manage their services within further constraints. They then have to have their plans approved by senior management.
Dr Lawrence agreed that there should be a considered and orderly approach to the process of consultation with staff and unions. If the budget is to be cut to match the activity level and this means a reduction in staff numbers, then the services need to be cut or adjusted to match the staff numbers.
The union is meeting with SMHS management regularly to discuss emerging issues. We do not want to rely on one source of information, and if members are aware of job cuts or service reductions then we would ask you to contact the union office so that we can work with members to follow up.
We want to try to ensure that displaced staff are found jobs , that workloads are realistic and sustainable, and that there is not an expectation that staff will simply work harder to plug the Barnett Government's budget gaps.
