Hospital Board to face big deficit?

Press, 19 February 1987, Page 2

Hospital Board to face big deficit?

The Canterbury Hospital Board could end the financial year with a deficit of $2.7 million unless it receives payment for its resident medical officers.

The pay scale for junior doctors was changed last year and as yet the board has not heard from the Health Department how much of the increase will be covered.

Wages for the junior doctors have cost the board about Sl-.5 million in the last 10 months. The total by the end of the financial year is likely to be about $l.B million. Mr David Herman, the board’s director of

finance, told a finance committee meeting yesterday that the deficit would be only $900,000 if the board received the money for its junior doctors.

This was 0.5 per cent of the board’s total yearly budget of $lBO million, he said. The $2.7 million would be 1.5 per cent of the board’s total expenditure.

Mr Herman said the board had to assume the worst position — that it would get no money for the junior doctors — and make provision accordingly. Mr Herman received

the committee’s approval to apply to the Health Department to carry forward the over-expendi-ture to the 1987-88 financial year. The budget, with or without the payment for the junior doctors, was not bad enough for the board to start cutting services, he said.

“However, the board needs to seek economies in a more aggressive manner.” Services such as care of the elderly and neo-natal care needed additional funding and a reallocation of funds was needed for this, Mr Herman said.