Gillard plays tough with state hospitals

NEW LOW: PA Hospital will cancel surgeries. Picture: Liam Kidston Source: The Courier-Mail

ELECTIVE surgery has been slashed at one of Queensland's biggest hospitals and others could follow suit as a stoush over health funding deepens.

Last night the Gillard Government threatened to withhold another $234 million in health funding from the Queensland Government this financial year.

Accusing the state of playing games over hospital budgets, Prime Minister Julia Gillard flagged the Commonwealth would consider bypassing the Newman Government and paying the money directly to hospitals.

Queensland has already accused the Federal Government of shortchanging the state

The State Government claims a shortfall of $103 million this financial year because of "flawed" adjustments to population estimates.

Making the threat in a letter to Premier Campbell Newman last night, Ms Gillard made no mention of the $103 million shortfall.

Hours earlier, she had caved in to Victoria's demands and promised an extra $107 million would be paid directly to her home state's hospitals.

The Prime Minister threatened to force the states to pay upfront for health services and then claim the money back from the Commonwealth, which would put more pressure on their budgets.

State Health Minister Lawrence Springborg described the Federal Government's threat as "a scandalous discrimination against Queensland Health workers".

"It sets a new low in Australian politics," he said.

The stoush comes as Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital revealed 10 per cent of "total surgery" had been cancelled until at least the end of the financial year because of the federal budget cuts.

Metro South Health chief executive Richard Ashby said the Princess Alexandra Hospital had reduced surgery by 20 out of 200 operating theatre sessions per week to help meet an $18.8 million reduction in Federal Government funding.

Dr Ashby yesterday said Metro South Health had no choice but to reduce non-urgent elective surgery in the short term, after the "unexpected and unprecedented" Federal Government budget reduction.

He said the cuts would be made by postponing category 3 elective surgery, such as hip and knee replacements and some spinal surgery.

"Our first priority is to communicate with patients affected by these changes to advise of expected delays," Dr Ashby said.

"Patients may wish to speak with their general practitioners about other referral and treatment options."

Many other Queensland public hospitals are also battling severe budgetary shortfalls and have announced drastic job cuts.

Princess Alexandra Hospital urology department director Ross Cartmill said he expected the cuts to category 3 surgery to drag on for at least another year.

"If you're a category 3 patient in Metro South, you're not going to be treated in the forseeable future," Dr Cartmill said.

"The PA has already been told its budget for next year is only increasing by 1.2 per cent so that means in real terms, we're going backwards."

Federal and state governments have spent months blaming each other for the latest health job cuts sweeping Queensland.

The Gillard Government slashed Queensland health funding last December by $103 million when it revised population estimates.

But in her letter to Mr Newman, Ms Gillard insisted Labor was giving Queensland hospitals $234 million more this year than what they would have received under the Howard government.

"The Federal Government expects State and Territory Governments to abide by the agreement they have entered into," she wrote.

"The alternatives to the agreement being upheld and abided by are ... the termination of the agreement.

"The extra funding that would have been delivered by the Federal Government to States and Territories will be delivered direct to hospitals and other service providers."

Mr Springborg is due to speak today via a telephone hookup to a Senate inquiry into the impact of the cuts.

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