Page 716 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 March 1991
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Consideration is still being given to the need for further supplementation totalling about $2.8m in respect of a number of factors, which I will explain. The first of those is a possible reinstatement of expected savings of the order of $1.45m that were previously expected from the coordination of nurses' accrued days off to allow the hospital a low activity day, and alterations to shift arrangements that would eliminate excessive overlap of shifts. These measures were announced in Ms Follett's budget of 1989-90 and were not achieved, and I am now being asked to adjust the budget to take up the lack of achievement of Mr Berry when he was Minister - Mr Berry's ineffectiveness.
Mr Moore: Blame the community; now blame the predecessors.
MR KAINE: No, I put the onus where it belongs - on Mr Berry. Mr Berry, the great budgeter, could not handle the budget in his time and now he is holding me accountable. Well, get your own house in order, mate.
A further savings measure that was announced by the Follett Government was the cessation of the enrolled nurse education program. Costings associated with this proposal have been re-examined and it is likely that, instead of the $400,000 which they estimated would be saved by this, in fact only about $250,000 can be achieved. So we have to pick up some more slack in Ms Follett's budget. So, when you start analysing and criticising and talking about budget blow-outs, mate, look at where the problem is coming from.
Ms Follett: Blame someone else. Always find someone else.
MR KAINE: Well, look at your own budget. That is where those things flowed from. Are you denying that they came out of your budget and were not achieved? Mr Speaker, in addition to those, there is an estimated increase of about $1.2m for visiting medical officers which, I am told, is due partly to changes in the patient case mix and partly to a greater throughput of admissions to the hospitals. Again, if you have more patients coming into your hospital than you originally expected and that attracts an additional cost of visiting medical officers, you have to pay the bill.
Mr Berry: There are 1,500 waiting for a bed.
MR KAINE: You could not even explain the $7m when you had it; you just threw your hands up in the air. Well, we are explaining it for you. These are some of your problems carrying over. Apart from those issues, Treasury has also concluded that there is a potential budget shortfall, if nothing is done about it, of at least $4.6m that remains to be addressed. Board of Health officers have reported to Treasury - - -
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