Bed closures, shutting entire wards, reducing elective surgery, cancelling breast screening and even closing special care cots used to treat critically sick babies were all openly discussed as possibilities to save money.
A secretly recorded meeting of executives from some of the state’s biggest hospital networks has revealed the sense of crisis felt inside the system as they face their greatest financial shock in 30 years.
“The thing I am concerned about though, one of ours is reducing special care nursery cots. Now, in closing those in clumps big enough for it to be effective, there’s a roll on consequences for the Royal Children’s Hospital or for other hospitals.” “Any suggestion that these measures are only there to address wastage in the system is false,” Victorian Healthcare Association CEO Leigh Clarke said. “These measures will go way beyond that – this is cuts to services.
The letter said recruitment freezes would have significant impacts on trainees finishing in 2024, with the likely consequent loss of a passionate and skilled workforce interstate or to the privateThomas has publicly suggested hospitals have been asked only to “streamline” spending and can meet their savings targets by reducing their executive wages bill and reducing the number of staff who work in non-clinical areas, such as communications and marketing.
Victoria’s Department of Health secretary, Euan Wallace, said although the budget for all state hospitals had increased, some would need to find savings to bridge the difference between what they will actually spend this financial year and what they have been budgeted for next year.
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