With the Victorian government demanding savings from hospitals, doctors warn that waiting lists will balloon, leading to poorer health outcomes.
Doctors warn elective surgery lists will balloon due to budget cuts as hospitals are forced to scale back operations to meet financial demands from the cash-strapped Victorian government.in East Melbourne – one of eight rapid-access hubs established to clear a massive pandemic backlog of cases – say they have been told their contracts will not be renewed.
“I am highly concerned about this for the impact on patient care and for the impact on the morale of healthcare workers in Victoria.”In May, the Allan government walked away from a promise to offer an extra 40,000 elective surgeries annually by 2024, lowering its targets back to pre-pandemic levels. The government did not respond to requests for comment before deadline.
They said the hospital had scaled back on maintenance and replaced agency nurses with permanent staff to achieve this target.The source said the health service had made a conscious decision to not cut any services. In August 2023, then-premier Daniel Andrews visited the hospital and said: “With rapid access hubs, new public surgical centres, upgraded surgical equipment and more training for staff, this isn’t about a blitz – we’re setting up the system to deliver more surgery now and into the future.”An anaesthetist, who was told on Monday their contract would not be renewed, said the Health Department had asked St Vincent’s Hospital to identify savings.
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