The crisis in Victoria’s health system has been made worse by the Andrews Labor Government’s $2 billion cut to health funding, confirmed in therecent State Budget.
A breakdown of the cuts detail:
- More than $1 billion cut from admitted services (includes elective surgery)
- $166 million cut from non-admitted services (includes services for medical diagnosis and treatment; ongoing management of chronic conditions; pre- and post-hospital care; and maternity care)
- $107 million cut from community health care (includes delivery of a range of community care and support services, including counselling, allied health and nursing, that enable people to continue to live independently in the community)
- $36 million cut from drug treatment and rehabilitation
- $41 million cut from aged support services
- $26 million cut from emergency services (relates to emergency presentations at reporting hospitals with emergency departments)
- $24 million cut from dental services
- $17 million cut from ambulance non-emergency services
- $11 million cut from small rural services – acute health (includes admitted and non-admitted services delivered by small rural services, including elective and non-elective surgical and medical care, urgent care services, and maternity services)
At a time when ambulances are ramping across the state and with ongoing Code Yellows, why would the Andrews Labor Government make cuts to admitted services – the operational budgets of hospitals?
Why would the Andrews Labor Government cut funding to emergency departments when the budget revealed614,313 Victorians attended emergency departments in 2021-22 and were not treated within the clinically recommended time?
With more than100,000 Victorians waiting for general dental care, why would the Andrews Labor Government cut funding for dental services?
The Liberals and Nationals have a plan to fix Labor’s health crisis and to deliver the services that Victorians deserve.
