Victorian community health organisations say they have been blindsided by news that their services will see funding cuts in the next financial year, warning the decision could see vital programs lost.
SharePostedAnne-Maree Kaser from Gippsland Lakes Complete Health, Jayne Nelson from IPC health and Rick Jackson from DPV Health are all fearful about what the cuts might mean.abc.net.au/news/community-health-organisations-fear-budget-cuts/102228622Victorian community health organisations say they have been blindsided by news that their services will see funding cuts in the next financial year, warning the "short-sighted" decision could see vital programs lost.
Some organisations are bracing for cuts of up to 15 per cent, primarily from health promotion services. "We're calling on government today to reverse these short-sighted cuts that will ultimately end up costing taxpayers millions of dollars more in increased hospitalisations down the track." In a statement, a Victorian government spokesperson said the changes to services "were elements of last year's Budget now being implemented — they do not represent a cut to health services".Premier Daniel Andrews said the upcoming cuts were flagged in previous budgets and were due to "a whole lot of services that were basically double-ups", especially as new local public health units were funded across the state.
Mr Andrews said he was not aware of how the organisations had been contacted and downplayed questions about whether the cuts could have been better communicated.Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the government had invested millions of dollars in local public health units, which had grown out of COVID-19 necessity and proved to be "very effective".
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