BALLARAT health stands to lose $364 million in federal funding over the next 10 years, according to an analysis conducted by the state government.
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During a visit to the Ballarat Base Hospital on Friday, Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy condemned the cuts.
She said the result would mean longer waiting times for emergency treatments and elective surgeries in Ballarat.
“These cuts will be disastrous for the Victorian health system and have horrendous consequences for regional Victoria,” Ms Hennessy said.
The cuts were sparked by a federal government change to the way the hospital funding system is run, currently based on growth in demand and costs, to one that focuses on funding increases that coincide with inflation and population growth.
The new model will come into effect in the 2017-18 financial year and the state government analysis has outlined it will mean hospitals nationwide would receive $57 billion less in funding over the following decade.
The analysis also found that in regional Victoria, Bendigo Health would lose $364 million, Albury Wodonga Health $278 million and Barwon Health $348 million.
Ms Hennessy said the figures were calculated on the proportion of total federal funding the hospitals currently received.
The federal government has maintained a change was needed to deliver a more efficient hospital system into the future and it has outlined that hospital funding under the Abbott government continued to rise each year.
Ms Hennessy also toured the hospital with Ballarat federal MP and opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King, and Ballarat MPs Sharon Knight and Geoff Howard.
When asked whether the state government would fill a $20 million shortfall in funding needed to construct a new floor inside the Ballarat Base Hospital, Ms Hennessy said she was “not in a position to make announcements” days before the Victorian budget was to be unveiled.
The hospital was a focal point during the election, with the Liberal Party promising an $83 million redevelopment.
The former Yuille House site was set to have an area dedicated to new operating theatres, however no funding had been committed to it.
melissa.cunningham@fairfaxmedia.com.au
