WA: Admin costs push up health budget by $94m

AAP General News (Australia)
04-09-2006
WA: Admin costs push up health budget by $94m

PERTH, April 9 AAP - The West Australian health system is employing hundreds of highly
paid administrative staff at the expense of more doctors and nurses, opposition health
spokeswoman Kim Hames says.

Dr Hames said administration staffing costs had increased by more than $94 million
in the past five years.

The additional expense was enough to employ 1,700 extra nurses, but instead it had
gone to administrators and bureaucratic fat cats, he said.

"This huge rise for administration is part of the reason we have not seen any real
improvement in health services under the Labor government," Dr Hames said.

"This $94.6 million has not gone towards more doctors, nurses or beds - it has gone
solely towards administration, the bureaucrats of the system.

"There are not enough beds in hospitals and patients' wait list (elective) surgery
is continually being cancelled, yet the number of administration staff, who have nothing
to do with patients, has blown out by 604 in five years."

Acting director general for health John de Campo rejected the claims, saying the number
of clinical staff employed in the health system between 2001 and 2005 had greatly outweighed
the increase in administrative staff.

"Between June 2001 and June 2005, an additional 3,586 medical, nursing and medical
support staff were employed in our public hospitals at a cost of $516.5 million," Dr de
Campo said.

He said there had been an increase of 2,231 nurses, 899 additional allied health staff
and 456 more doctors in the period June 2001 to June 2005.

aap jh/rj

KEYWORD: BLOWOUT

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