Cuts budgeted since 2014 will cost big hospitals like Royal Melbourne more than $1.3bn over 10 years, lobby group says

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Voters more concerned with hip replacements than the hip pocket might want to look at a new map launched by GetUp that offers a projection of what $57bn of health cuts would do to hospitals in their local area.

According to the progressive campaign group, the Coalition government’s policies amount to a $57bn cut over 10 years, equivalent to 37,000 hospital beds that can’t be funded, or 68,000 nurses or 33,000 doctors that can’t be paid.

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GetUp campaign director Natalie O’Brien said: “voters deserve to know how these cuts may impact on their local hospital service so that they can make an informed decision come election day”.

“Our campaign builds on warnings from doctors and nurses groups that patient care is already being compromised and many hospitals are reaching breaking point,” she said.

“Many hospitals are located in key marginal seat battlegrounds – like Launceston hospital in the electorate of Bass could lose up to $329.4m, or Bowen Hospital in the electorate of Dawson, up to $25.7m.”

The map is based on work by GetUp and unions using parliamentary budget office figures to estimate each state’s share of cuts based on their health funding and activity, then estimating each hospital’s share of the cuts by the number of their beds.

The map says people in health minister Sussan Ley’s electorate of Farrer can expect $77.4m to be cut from Griffith hospital and $58.7m from Leeton hospital.

Ballarat health services in Labor’s health spokeswoman Catherine King’s seat of Ballarat would lose $454.8m over 10 years.

In Sydney, the Prince of Wales hospital would lose $449m, Royal Prince Alfred hospital $660m, and Royal North Shore hospital $576m.

In Brisbane, the biggest cuts were to Princess Alexandra hospital ($898m) and the Prince Charles hospital ($593.7m).

In Melbourne, the Alfred would lose $1.39bn and the Royal Melbourne hospital $1.32bn.

The former Labor government had promised the states $57bn in long-term hospital funding. The Abbott government cut this agreement in its 2014 budget, meaning that promised 9% per year funding increases would, after July 2017, fall to 4.5%.

However, the Turnbull government has restored $2.9bn in health funding over the next three years.

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After Bill Shorten’s budget reply on Thursday, Ley noted Labor had stopped short of promising to restore the full $57bn. She said the Turnbull government had invested nearly $18bn into hospitals in 2016-17.

Shorten said Labor would unveil its health and hospital policy “in coming weeks”.

O’Brien said: “The Coalition’s attack on public health is already ringing alarm bells for voters, with protecting our universal health system polling as the key vote-changing issue this election time.”

“When you show up at the emergency room the last thing you want to worry about is whether your local hospital even has enough staff or beds to deliver the care you or your loved one needs.”