Jillian Skinner MP
Shadow Minister for Health
The NSW Opposition has called on Health Minister John Hatzistergos to explain today’s sudden departure of Greater Southern Area Health Service Chief Executive Professor Stuart Schneider.
“A terse two line announcement of Prof Schneider’s departure has led to local speculation he was unhappy with the budget allocated to the Area,” Shadow Health Minister, Jillian Skinner said.
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“Hospitals in the area came under considerable pressure late last year when they were unable to pay bills," she said.
“Struggling with overdue accounts for months, Greater Southern Area Health Service administrators confessed to medical staff early this year they were so far in the red they were considering cuts to services to cover debts.
“Unpaid bills had prevented Goulburn Hospital fixing smoke alarms, Bega Hospital having to close its operating theatre because of broken air-conditioning, doctors bills unpaid at Moruya, cabling needing repair at Griffith and Wagga, bills unpaid for basic goods and services such as milk and other supplies throughout the region.
“Last November Premier Morris Iemma and his Health Minister John Hatzistergos tried to blame bureaucrats and insisted that overdue accounts were merely a computer glitch caused by the merging of two old health regions.*
“Documents obtained by the Coalition under Freedom of Information showed that at the end of last year the Greater Southern Area owed more than $8.5m in overdue accounts and had been lent $25m by the Health head office to pay off their debts.
“I warned at the time this was merely a matter of robbing Peter to pay Paul and that the loans would merely add to the burden of hospitals if the budget allocated was inadequate to cover costs.
“Has Prof Schneider’s resignation got something to do with rumours that payment of accounts are again falling behind?
“Mr Hatzistergos has put out a press release saying the Area budget has gone up by 10%. But that is compared with the budget allocated in 2005-06.
"How does it compare with the revised budget for 2005-06 that blew out considerably? How much actual money has the Area been given to cover costs given it has to provide an additional 4% for wages and 2.75% for inflation?
“The people of the Greater Southern Area Health Service deserve to be told the truth about Professor Schneider’s departure by the Iemma Government.
“They need to know whether there is enough money to run their hospitals and provide care they rely upon,” Mrs Skinner said.
* ‘Iemma keen to resolve health service financial woes’ ABC-Thursday, 24 November 2005. 10:17 (AEDT)
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