The Federal Health Minister’s again calling on the Tasmanian Government to reassess its decision to make savage cuts to its elective surgery budget.
Nicola Roxon says it is a short-sighted decision which will hit the most needy in the community.
The State Government is moving to cut $60 million from the elective surgery budget over three years, postponing thousands of operations.
Tasmania’s eligible for a bonus of more than four million dollars under the National Health Agrement if it meets elective surgery targets.
Ms Roxon says it has no chance of getting the money.
“These cuts mean that Tasmania will have almost no chance of receiving the reward funding that they signed up to try and achieve under health reform,” she said.
The Commonwealth will not pay money for targets that are not achieved but we will do all we can to ensure that Tasmanians are not suffering further by a poor decision by a state government.”
Tasmania’s health minister Michelle O’Byrne has hit back at the criticsm saying the comments are unhelpful and unfair.
She says the State Government is making tough decisions to secure better health services long term and the Commonwealth needs to be a help and not a hindrance.
• What Michelle O’Byrne wrote for The Examiner …
Labor’s pledge for a strong, sustainable health system
BY MICHELLE O’BYRNE, MINISTER FOR HEALTH.
15 Oct, 2011 01:00 AM
DELIVERING health services is one of this state government’s most important responsibilities.
To fulfil that responsibility, I must ensure that we can provide the best possible healthcare to those Tasmanians who need it not just today, but next year and in the decades to come.
That demands tough decisions.
We have lost $1.7 billion over the next four years because of the global financial crisis and the following decline in GST revenue.
We need to live within our means or we will descend into crippling debt. Treasury modelling shows that if we borrowed to fund recurrent costs, like health, Tasmania would be $4 billion in debt within four years.
Interest payments alone would be $300 million a year – that’s money that would otherwise be spent on health, education or police.
This Parliament – all three parties and both houses – passed the state budget in June.
The Department of Health and Human Services budget, which makes up approximately 40 per cent of the total state budget, increased by 5.1 per cent to $1.844 billion.
But to rein in the spiralling growth in health spending, we required the department to find $100.2 million in savings.
The Liberal Party, despite its recent protestations, agreed with that savings target. Its alternative budget states: “Savings strategies that have not been removed or re- profiled in this document have been retained.”
They have put up no ideas for savings in health at all; no strategies that will help us become more efficient at delivering the best possible healthcare for the best possible price.
Because that is our goal: a sustainable health system.
We must adjust to the fact that we have less money available to deliver government services. But there are two other important factors that demand action now.
Health inflation is unrelenting. If we hadn’t required $100.2 million in savings this financial year, spending on hospital and ambulance services would have increased by 14.8 per cent, rather than 7.9 per cent.
If health spending growth continues unchecked, it will consume the entire state budget by 2025.
Within 15 years, the Tasmanian government could no longer afford to fund education, police or the court system; we would have no money for agriculture, tourism marketing or economic development; soon even health would be too expensive to provide.
Secondly, National Health Reform demands greater efficiency from our health system.
Under the reforms, our Tasmanian Health Organisations will receive money from the state and Commonwealth under an activity based funding model.
We will be paid a nationally-set efficient price for every procedure we carry out. Unless we get better at lowering the cost of the services we carry out in Tasmania, we will lose money with every procedure our hospitals perform.
The Liberal Party is deliberately avoiding the complexities that face us in health.
Pulling $200,000 a year out of Tasmania Together or $250,000 a year from the state architect will not address the need to control health spending.
Will Hodgman talks about cutting 25 senior bureaucrat positions across government; we have already announced that 150 positions will be removed from the health bureaucracy alone.
We have made every effort to find savings that do not impact on service delivery – and we found $79million.
It was an incredibly difficult decision to reduce elective surgery funding but it was made with a clear understanding of the clinical, community and indeed the political consequences.
We had to ensure that we protected the ability of our hospitals to provide emergency and urgent care – if you need emergency care, we will be there.
I want to reassure people that we have not shutdown elective surgery; elective surgery will continue to be carried out.
Hospitals will continue to manage their waiting lists, as they always have done, to respond to the needs of individual patients while working to improve productivity over the coming years.
I will continue to fulfil my responsibility as the Minister for Health to ensure we have a strong, sustainable health system that meets the needs of Tasmanians today, next year and in the decades to come.
First published in The Examiner HERE
• HOSPITAL TOURS TO FRONT BUDGET IMPACTS
Insight From Those at the Coal-Face
Paul ‘Basil’ O’Halloran MP
Greens Health spokesperson
Friday, 14 October 2011
The Tasmanian Greens have embarked on their own fact-finding tours of the State’s three main hospitals, to hear directly from those at the coal-face how the announced Health budget cuts will impact on the ground.
Greens Health spokesperson Paul ‘Basil’ O’Halloran MP said that he had toured the Launceston General Hospital today where he received an in-depth briefing from senior management and staff.
Mr O’Halloran said he undertook a similar tour of the North-West Regional Hospital at Burnie on Tuesday, and will visit the Royal Hobart Hospital in the near future.
“In difficult and challenging times like these, many fall into the trap of resorting to blame-games, and taking the easy option of political point-scoring, but the Greens are determined to be constructive,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“In this context I am undertaking tours of the three regional hospitals, to talk to many of those at the coal face about the budget challenges.”
“Today I had a very instructive tour of the LGH, and I can say with confidence that this is a modern and first class facility, and has further redevelopments still underway.”
“I also visited the NW Regional Hospital on Tuesday where I was greatly impressed by that team’s can-do attitude in the face of such considerable challenges.”
“Touring both these hospitals, talking with those at the coal-face, I have clarified that at neither will the emergency care services provided be impacted upon by the budget cuts, and I am also confident that the LGH’s oncology services will also not be impacted upon.”
“It is also evident that there are further efficiencies that can be made in both the medium and longer term, towards putting our health system onto a sustainable footing.”
“There is a real need for better integration between the public and private sector, and having the insight gained from my tour of the North-West Hospital it appears there are many advantages of that co-located model.”
“Another area of potential efficiencies and savings is to develop across the board electronic integrated health records. This will faster medical response for patients, improved accuracy, co-ordination and timeliness of providing seamless care within and between departments, as well as saving time and money.”
“Secure integrated electronic systems should also facilitate greater co-ordination between both government and non government service providers.”
“The Greens are also organising a Health Stakeholder Roundtable where a key focus of debate will be on what is a workable and viable funding model for our health system.”
“Nobody should be trying to fool themselves that these budget challenges are not real. Not taking action will not make it go away.”
“Nor is just trying to find extra money to throw going to make any meaningful difference. The community cannot afford to keep having the bandaid approach be applied, as that cannot even cover the symptoms adequately let alone address the causes.”
“The Greens call for a focus on preventative care and early intervention makes good health sense, as well as sound economic sense. These hospital tours have also emphasised that additional savings can be found through better collaboration, as well as the development of electronic integrated health records, and I will continue to push for a greater emphasis in these areas as an investment in the long term sustainability of our health system,” Mr O’Halloran said.
• GREENS MOVE FOR PREVENTATIVE HEALTH PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY
Constructive Step Towards Viable System
Nick McKim MP
Greens Leader
The Tasmanian Greens will move to establish a Parliamentary inquiry into the need for greater investment in preventative health care, as a means of addressing the state’s long-term health funding challenges, when Parliament resumes next week.
Greens Leader Nick McKim MP said emphasis on preventative health and early intervention makes good health and good economic sense, and will help move the State’s health system onto a sustainable footing to end the boom-bust cycle of crisis driven management.
Mr McKim also said that this latest proposal builds on the constructive work already undertaken by Greens Health spokesperson Paul O’Halloran MP, since the health cuts announcement , who has undertaken fact-finding tours in the North-West Hospital, the LGH, with a tour of the RHH scheduled, and is also preparing a Roundtable of key Health stakeholders.
“The Greens’ proposed Joint House Select Committee will present an opportunity to take the politics out of this debate and consider constructive solutions around preventable health, early intervention and Tasmania’s health funding model,” Mr McKim said.
“This will be a test for all political parties, the Tasmanian Legislative Council, and the Federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, to see whether they are prepared to take a co-operative approach and place the interest of Tasmanians above political self-interest.”
“With estimates that for every one dollar spent on preventative healthcare, the health system can save between $10 and $20 in treatment costs, our move makes both good health sense and good economic sense.”
“We need to break free of the crippling boom bust cycle, which keeps plunging the State into crisis management mode. We cannot afford for this to continue.”
“The current crisis in health funding needs to be addressed, but that will only remain a short-term band-aid approach if we don’t also undertake the necessary economic structural reform that would prevent this situation from happening again in another few years.”
“Our medical system is focused almost entirely on treating sickness, not on preventing it. The only guaranteed way to reduce healthcare costs over the long time is to place more emphasis on preventing diseases like cancer, diabetes, hepatitis and cardio-vascular disease, which together account for a major component of health spending.”
“It’s predicted that at current rates, health care costs would consume the entire State Budget by 2025, so what’s clear is that we can’t just continue throwing money at the current system hoping the problems will go away.”
“The Greens proposal is constructive, deserves the support of all three parties and the Upper House, and given the Liberal Party’s recent statements backing the Greens’ long-standing position on preventative healthcare, we are hopeful that the motion will be passed,” Mr McKim said.
