[ad_1]
A government bailout of $ 180 million for the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) comes with the expectation that DHB will “administer within allocated funds.”
Health Minister Chris Hipkins revealed on Thursday that the government had agreed to eliminate the health board’s deficit for next year. .
Senior Physicians Union Director Sarah Dalton said it was a “relief” that Hipkins recognized the financial difficulties facing the DHB.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Health Minister Chris Hipkins arrives at the Canterbury District Board of Health on Thursday.
But he warned that “the scars of the past few months are deep” and said it was a shame that an unprecedented leadership crisis and protests from staff had been needed to force action.
READ MORE:
* $ 180 million government bailout for the beleaguered Canterbury District Board of Health
* Hundreds of staff, nurses and services can be laid off at Canterbury DHB
National health spokesman Dr. Shane Reti said the cash was a positive step and would likely reassure the public, but his party would have “fixed this much sooner.”
“The people of Canterbury need to know if they get sick, their DHB will be there for them.”
He raised questions about whether other health boards would be rescued, he said.
“The underlying root causes remain… there needs to be a sustainable path to recovery. Does this $ 180 million fix the broken relationships between the doctors and the board? “
The CDHB is understood to have known about the bailout for about a week, and it was formally confirmed during a committee meeting held privately on Tuesday in the form of a letter from Hipkins to President Sir John Hansen.
The letter includes several Hipkins stipulations, including that only the CEO can approve the hiring of new staff, community provider contracts and capital expenditure plans.
“Capital support for DHB deficits is limited to providing capital support for the purpose of maintaining and restoring working capital. It is not linked to reported deficits. “
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / THINGS
Health Minister Chris Hipkins says the government “cannot keep pouring more money” into the Canterbury District Board of Health.
The letter indicates that approval has been given to provide DHB with a capital injection of $ 180 million.
“I note that this amount will be sufficient to meet DHB’s anticipated cash flow funding through the end of the current financial year 2020-21.”
The expected CDHB deficit for the last financial year is between $ 175 million and $ 176 million.
Financial constraints have led DHB to phase out several services from the new Hagley hospital, including a juvenile cancer unit and services to improve acute and emergency care for children.
He has also proposed cutting 200 administrative employees, as well as nursing and senior medical staff, to save about $ 56.9 million.
Alden Williams / Stuff
It has taken an unprecedented leadership crisis and protests to force action, says the union representing senior doctors.
Dalton, the director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, said investment in healthcare should be determined by need and not by “numerical calculations,” and DHBs should not have to push austerity to reduce debt.
Many CDHB services were struggling with a lack of specialists and growing demand, such as oncology and mental health.
“While the rescue is a significant step, DHB is struggling to cope with the number of patients in Canterbury who need treatment. We also remain concerned that the Hagley building will be fully staffed and operational when it opens, ”he said.
“The scars of the last few months are deep. What Canterbury needs now is a new governance team that is people-centered and listens to the community and the voice of clinical leaders. “
The union warned that the Canterbury “crisis” was a warning and that there was a risk that other DHBs could follow it without further funding.
The Southern District Board of Health was an example of this, Dalton said.
“He is trying to build a new hospital in Dunedin, while fighting the growing demand for services, and a hospital in Invercargill, which is overcrowded and in desperate need of rebuilding.”
Another example was Northland, which was still waiting to rebuild the hospital, which had been long overdue, he said.
“The result is that people in those regions will not get the health services they need.”
Reti said there were questions about where exactly the money would go.
Under a national government, he would have created a plan with the board and clinical leaders earlier, which would likely have included a bailout as well, he said.
