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Objectives

The Canberra Hospital, together with ACT Community Care, forms the ACT Health and Community Care Service statutory authority. The primary functions of the Service are to promote, protect and maintain the health of the residents of the Territory, provide health and community care services to residents of the surrounding region, provide training and education in the provision of health and community services and to encourage research in those fields.

The Canberra Hospital, as a major trauma and tertiary care facility, aims to continually provide high level, cost efficient and effective health and hospital services to the ACT and South-Eastern Region of New South Wales. Services include all major medical, surgical and women’s and children’s health specialties on an inpatient and outpatient basis, accident and emergency, mental health, allied health, pathology and medical imaging.

1999-2000 Highlights

Strategic and operational issues to be pursued in 1999-2000 include:

• continuing the development of The Canberra Hospital as the major referral hospital for the ACT region, with the development of ACT Pathology as the supervising laboratory for the Southern Area Health Service in NSW;
• improving integration of patient care delivery through clinical streaming initiatives that will establish stronger organisational links between clinical specialities to facilitate improved continuity of care;
• continuing the development of mental health services toward community based support, accommodation and intervention under the Commonwealth’s Second National Mental Health Strategy;
• enhancing customer service in the Emergency Department with the introduction of volunteer coordinators who, during busy times, are able to provide additional information on expected waiting time and other assistance to patients during their time in the Hospital;
• re-orientating the Pathology, Imaging and Pharmacy services to operate as competitive and potentially contestable business units within their respective markets;
• transferring as part of the Government’s strategy of strengthening the primary care sector and re-focusing the role of The Canberra Hospital on providing essential acute services, funding for allied health outpatient and outreach services to ACT Community Care;
• implementing a comprehensive business re-engineering program aimed at reducing operating costs and improving efficiency of underlying fixed cost structures over the medium to long term, subject to the outcome of consultation and industrial negotiation processes;
• implementing in-house financial management reforms with a primary focus on business planning frameworks, management performance regimes that place a greater emphasis on budget responsibility and accountability and improved management information and finance support functions; and
• continuing moderisation of Information Technology infrastructure and systems.

1. These costings are indicative only and may change as The Canberra Hospital finalises internal budget allocations within the context of the final 1999-2000 Purchase Agreement with the ACT Department of Health and Community Care.
2. Includes depreciation on buildings ($4.883m), Comcare premiums ($4.930m), and maternity leave costs for Hospital staff ($0.716m).
3. Includes employer superannuation ($14.903m), general insurance premiums ($3.389m), information technology upgrade costs ($4.014m) and linen and sterilising costs ($5.853m) for the Hospital.

The Canberra Hospital
Operating Statement

The Canberra Hospital
Statement Of Financial Position

The Canberra Hospital
Cashflow Statement

Notes to the Budget Statements

The major changes affecting the Financial Statements of the Hospital in 1999-2000 are the transfer of allied health services from The Canberra Hospital to ACT Community Care, as set out in the Minister’s direction statement ‘Setting the Agenda’, and the impacts of the rectification plan aimed at generating savings in the delivery of services.

Operating Statement

In 1999-2000, the operating revenue decreases by $5.359m, primarily due to the transfer of government payments for select allied health outputs from the Hospital to ACT Community Care. The transfer reflects the Government’s objective of strengthening the primary and community care sector, while refocussing the role of the Hospital on acute and emergency care. Operating expenses decrease by $11.007m, principally from a decrease of $21.381m in employee and superannuation expenses, partly offset by an increase of $10.071m in administrative expenses. The major factors contributing to the movements in expenses are:

• transfer of allied health services ($8.026m);
• savings from the Rectification Plan ($11.838m); offset by
• devolution of insurance premium from the Department ($3.389m);
• expenses on IT modernisation ($2.281m) and Year 2000 compliance costs ($1.733m); and
• general price increases ($1.6m).

Significant variations are as follows:

• net cash flows from operating activities: the decrease of $1.193m in 1999-2000 is due to:
• reduced operating receipts ($6.164m), mainly as a result of the transfer of services to ACT Community Care ($7.814m), which is partly offset by additional service and facility revenue from The National Capital Private Hospital ($1.007m); and
• reduced operating payments ($4.971m), predominantly as a result of business re-engineering and cost reduction strategies ($11.838m), transfer of allied health services to ACT Community Care (), partly offset by increases for information technology enhancements and Year 2000 compliance ($4.014m), redundancy payments ($6m), devolved insurance costs ($3.389m);
• net cash flows from investing activities: the decrease of $5.674m in 1999-2000 is due to the upgrading of food production systems ($0.8m) and increased expenditure on capital works ($4.875m) for the refurbishment of Building 7 (Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation) and Building 10 (Pathology); continued development of the mental health secure care facility, energy management and Medi-Hotel projects; and minor new works; and
• net cash flows from financing activities: the increase of $7.003m in 1999-2000 is due to increased capital injections for the capital works program ($5.794m) and funding for anticipated voluntary redundancies ($6m), partly offset by a one-off transfer of cash in 1998-99 from the Department of Health and Community Care ($4.8m).

Commonwealth Grants

The major Commonwealth payments made directly to The Canberra Hospital are as follows.