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This week, our newly-appointed state reporter Ben Silvester broke the exclusive story looking at the financial state of Victoria's hospitals.
He spent days researching and speaking to contacts and sources for the story, which revealed that the Victorian hospital system racked up a massive $697 million operating deficit - spending significantly more than its budget - in the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year.
Our own Grampians Health - which stretches through to Edenhope near the South Australian border - recorded a $25.26 million deficit, the biggest of any regional service.
Some questioned us on why this deficit was a big deal. Our response was that health spending comprises a massive chunk of the government's overall budget. The hospital system is looking at nearly a $3 billion deficit, which is more than what it will cost them to repay the COVID debt. What we want to know is how we got to this point and where the extra money will come from. If we're talking about cutting services to pay for it - what does that mean for the lengthy waiting lists (currently more than one in 20 patients on the elective/planned surgery list wait at least 365 days for their operation)?
In Ballarat on Wednesday, Nieve Walton sat in on the parliamentary inquiry into the Commonwealth Games, as some of the city's leaders spoke about their involvement and the impact from the Games' cancellation.
The state government says it is committed to building the extra 5,000 seats in Mars Stadium, an athletics track, Miners Rest sport facility and upgrades at Selkirk Stadium. Leaders had big ideas when it came to the Games, beyond the initial government promises.
As Nieve wrote on Saturday, our community is facing cost of living pressures, growth and the rapid need for more transport infrastructure. Now questions remain if these projects are exactly what we need.
On Friday, our newest reporter Gwen Liu, who hails from China, wrote about how a lack of beds in Ballarat's aged care facilities is impacting the city's oldest residents and particularly dementia patients.
She spoke to a woman who who had called around aged care homes endlessly, trying to find a place for her mum. Even though she worked in aged care, the woman hadn't realised how difficult it was to find a place. She eventually found one, but it speaks to a broader issue with our health system, including the number of dementia beds.
These are just a handful of the issues that The Courier is exploring on as we dig deeper into the things that are impacting the lives of our readers.
We are exploring more issues and talking to more people about how their lives are being impacted.
We want to hear your stories and feedback, so please reach out to our newsroom if you have something to contribute.
Until next week,
Emily Sweet
- Acting managing editor