The Premier Paul Lennon and Tasmania's Health Minister were warned that the Launceston General Hospital is getting deeper into debt each year when they met with Mayor Albert Van Zetten yesterday (Des 5).
Ald. Van Zetten received assurances that the hospital would not be downgraded but he warned the Premier and the Health Minister that the hospital's mounting debt, now more than $20m, must be cleared.
Ald. Van Zetten’s concern is that the hospital’s debt is “accumulating, and therefore each year it eats into the budget for the next year”.
Arguably, this has had the effect of restricting the hospitals capacity to deliver the level of services northern Tasmanians need. Without a doubt, this situation is effectively downgrading the LGH.
To put all this in some perspective, senior clinicians at the LGH, Prof. Einodor among them, have been saying much the same as this for some time. Indeed, Prof. Einodor made the assertion at the Appeal Concert in City Park on Sunday that “ The LGH is not operating in deficit, rather it is under funded.”
Prof. Einodor also indicated that the $8m due to come to the LGH was more likely to be used to offset the deficit than it might be used to address issues that had arisen due to the under funding and thus the debt.
GO TO: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/05/2110830.htm to make a link to the ABC story online.
The meeting was also reported in today's Examiner GO TO: http://northerntasmania.yourguide.com.au/news/local/health/no-response-to-mayor39s-funds-query/1099439.html to make a link to the story.
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