New documents have revealed the State Labor Government was forced to provide up to $1.18 billion to bail out Victorian hospitals at the end of the 2022-23 financial year.
A Departmental Brief obtained by the Victorian Liberals and Nationals under Freedom of Information has confirmed that in June 2023, Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas sought an urgent Treasurer's Advance of up to $1.179 billion to address the estimated full-year deficit across the public hospital system.
The brief states: "Without additional funding in June health services will be unable to make payroll payments to employees and will have insufficient operating cash to pay creditors" and noted this may have reputational risks for both individual health services and the Victorian State Government.
These revelations come as uncertainty remains around health service budgets for the current financial year, despite the Allan Labor Government belatedly providing an additional $1.5 billion in hospital funding amidst warnings of job losses, closures and amalgamations.
Shadow Minister for Health, Georgie Crozier, said: "This is yet another example of Labor's financial mismanagement having a direct impact on frontline health services.
"Is it any wonder why our health system remains in crisis under Labor when hospitals are running out of money and cannot afford to pay nurses, doctors and staff on time?
"A year on from this bailout and the situation has only worsened. The Allan Labor Government must urgently provide funding certainty for Victoria's health services so they can continue to focus on delivering better patient outcomes.
"Labor cannot manage money, cannot manage our health system and Victorians are paying the price."
