Health budget maintained under difficult circumstances: VHA

CEO of the Victorian Healthcare Association Leigh Clarke welcomed the Victorian Government’s investment in public health services to help them meet rising demand.  

‘We’re pleased to see the State Government increasing its overall funding for Victoria’s public health system, particularly as we transition out of the emergency phase of the COVID-19 funding arrangements with the Commonwealth Government,’ she said.  

‘The recent federal budget showed Commonwealth funding for Victorian hospitals will decrease by 10% in 2023-24 before increasing during the following years to match expected population growth, so we’re navigating our way through a difficult period.’ 

‘Our public health system remains under enormous pressure with severe workforce shortages and rising demand, especially for more complex care. We’re still catching up on elective surgery and other delayed care from the pandemic lockdown periods. This “catch up” work is likely to go on for many years.’ 

The VHA praised the Victorian Government’s investment in expanding Victoria’s Virtual Emergency Department – an innovative model created by public hospitals and Ambulance Victoria to speed up emergency response times.  

‘It’s great to see investment in new models of care that are clearly working. Victoria’s Virtual Emergency Department is taking pressure off our ambulance service and busy emergency departments,’ said Ms Clarke.  

‘This is exactly the sort of innovation we need to back if we want to modernise our health system to keep up with the new challenges we’re facing.’ 

The VHA also welcomed a top up to the Metropolitan Health Infrastructure Fund, which pays for essential upgrades and maintenance for public hospitals and community health services. However, the VHA continues to call for a more strategic and predictable approach to support all health services with maintaining their buildings and critical infrastructure.  

Ms Clarke said: ‘We support the Victorian Government building new hospitals in future, but this should not come at the expense of maintaining our existing health services to operate safely and effectively here and now.’   

‘These funds pay for things like fire and emergency systems, lifts and accessible toilets, as well as vital infrastructure such as ventilators.’