[ad_1]
The Canterbury District Board of Health will receive $ 180 million from the Government to help pay its bills and staff.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins made the revelation during a visit to Christchurch on Thursday, in which he met with clinical leaders, the CDHB board of directors, and representatives from the administration and the nurses union on how to get out of a black hole. financial.
Hipkins said Stuff: “As recently as the last two weeks, the government agreed to an additional capital injection of $ 180 million into Canterbury DHB because we recognize that their financial difficulties in the past have left them without the room to move they need.”
The money will effectively cancel out the CDHB deficit, which former CEO David Meates said was about $ 180 million when he announced in August that he would resign out of frustration over the financial crisis.
READ MORE:
* Treasury attacks Canterbury DHB and blames mismanagement for increasing deficit.
* Health Minister plans to visit Canterbury DHB, but does not say when
* What should be done about the CDHB crisis?
* A healthy relationship that turned toxic
* Farewell shot from the health chief: if our hospital were built on time, we would be in black numbers
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Health Minister Chris Hipkins met with senior doctors at the CDHB to discuss the crisis on Thursday.
A Hipkins spokesperson said: “What has happened here is that the government has provided Canterbury with access to $ 180 million basically so that it can continue to pay its bills, its staff and continue to provide high-quality health services to the people of Canterbury “.
It is unclear when the CDHB will receive that money, but it is expected to arrive in tiered payments.
CDHB executive and chairman Sir John Hansen were informed of the funding a week or two ago, Hipkins’s spokesman said, and it was raised in a discussion with his executive and management on Thursday.
“It wasn’t discussed in great detail, but it came up.”
Talking to Stuff Before meeting with top clinical leaders in Christchurch, Hipkins said he had full confidence in the board, both its elected and appointed members.
The minister said he would “listen with an open mind” to local concerns and said: “We want to work with the Canterbury DHB to bring things back into balance.”
But he cautioned: “Any district health board, in any circumstance, still has to meet a budget …
STACY SQUIRES / Stuff
The delays at Hagley’s new building have been attributed to an annual bill of $ 60 million.
“The Government has been willing to allocate additional funds to the Canterbury DHB to recognize some of the legacy issues that DHB has been grappling with.
“But we cannot continue to invest more money in an unlimited way, we have to get the DHB back to a sustainable financial position.”
It’s unclear whether this will lead to job cuts or service cuts, and Hipkins said it would be one of the things he would discuss with CDHB officials.
He also dismissed earthquake-related capital charges as a reason for part of the shortfall, saying the government was covering those costs.
The Health Ministry has disagreed with the CDHB on the cause of the deficit, and the Treasury released a highly critical report that blamed the CDHB administration for its growing deficit and dismissed its concerns.
The Treasury suggested blaming the delays on Hagley’s new building, which houses intensive services, was a smokescreen and said construction costs were not a reason for the shortfall. She urged the Ministry of Health not to give in to pressure to rescue the CDHB.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Hipkins says the government wants to work with the CDHB to get things back in “balance.”
The CDHB has been in crisis since CEO David Meates and six other top executives resigned over frustrations about how to deal with the organization’s huge deficit.
Delays in opening the Hagley Building and other facility-related inefficiencies had cost the CDHB $ 60 million a year, Meates said, and had it opened on time in March 2018, the health board would be in a “position of balance “.
He also blamed the shortfall on lack of funds and earthquake-related depreciation, insurance and capital costs.
Hipkins acknowledged that the situation in Canterbury had been “difficult” but said the government had been “coming to the party with increases in funding.”
“The continuing escalation of the deficit is unsustainable, and that would be unsustainable regardless of who the government is or the circumstances.
David Walker / Stuff
Former CEO David Meates resigned over frustrations about dealing with the CDHB’s financial black hole.
“So some living within the media will be necessary.”
When asked about his specific plan to help the CDHB, or if there is one, Hipkins said the ministry and Treasury disagreed with explanations given about the true nature of Canterbury’s position.
“People have been blaming the capital charge, and the decision was actually made last year that the government is covering the cost of the capital charge, so it is not a tax on DHB.”
He said board funding increased by about $ 100 million this year, “but the deficit is only down by about $ 30 million, so that kind of level of increase in spending is not sustainable.”
“In fact, we have to get the DHB into a position where the additional support from the government is really helping to make a difference rather than just keeping things out of control.”
