THE Victorian Government has revamped pressure on the Commonwealth to fork out
more hospital funding, claiming Swan Hill District Health will miss out on $1.27
million for the next three years as a result of cuts.
According to Health
Minister David Davis, the Swan Hill hospital will miss out on $344,000 during
the next financial year, while Robinvale District Health Services would be down
$247,000 over three years.
The stoush over hospital funding began last year
when the Commonwealth’s population forecasts did not match the Victorian
Government’s expectations.
“The Federal Government’s arbitrary health funding
formula is based on dodgy demographic statistics that suggest that Victoria’s
population has fallen by 11,000 people,” Minister Davis said.
“This is
despite other Federal departments using the correct data prepared by the
Commonwealth statistician, who produced figures to confirm that Victoria’s
population grew by 75,400 people in 2011.”
But Federal Health Minister Tanya
Plibersek said Commonwealth funding to Victorian hospitals was going up from
$3.4 billion in 2013-14 to $4.6 billion in 2016-17 — a rise of $1.2 billion, and
instead blamed the budget black hole on Minister Davis’ poor
management.
“False statements by Victorian Health Minister David Davis about
Commonwealth funding are a shameless attempt to shift blame from his own woeful
performance, which has seen the standard of patient care in Victoria decline,”
Minister Plibersek said.
For more of this story, see Wednesday’s Guardian (July 3).
