SDHBs locums budget blown
April 10th, 2008, 4:19 pm Hobbies News
A report to the Hospital Advisory Committee shows the board has spent almost $5.2 million on out-sourced doctors, against a budgeted $2.2 million for the year to February %26mdash; 134 percent over budget.
%26quot;The period December 2007 to February 2008 have seen a large increase in the use of out-source resources, in both the senior and junior doctor areas,%26quot; the report says.
In a written response to questions from The Southland Times, the Otago-Southland District Health Boards regional chief financial officer Robert Mackway-Jones says out-sourced costs include locums and costs for visiting specialists who provide specialist clinical services.
%26quot;It would be a reasonable assumption that most of the $2.9 million year-to-date variance does relate to extra locums covering the absence of staff. The locums are both senior and junior medical positions,%26quot; Mr Mackway-Jones says.
Otago-Southland District Health Board chief executive Brian Rousseau declined to comment on the increased costs.
The report shows the biggest increases are in out-sourced house officer spending. The board spent $1.02 million for the financial year to February against a budgeted $336,000.
Out-sourced senior medical house officer spending followed, with the board spending $3.2 million compared with the budgeted $1.3 million.
Permanent doctor spending was down. The total for the year to date was $13.9 million, against a budgeted $16.4 million.
The report says the variance to budget is unfavourable when joining permanent and out-sourced costs together at $380,000.
Mr Mackway-Jones says that some of the salary variance relates to wage rate differentials. For example, the board might budget for wage inflation at 4 percent.
%26quot;(But) if wage settlements are higher, which is the case (with the recent senior doctors union settlement), then some overrun is attributable to higher rates being paid or provided for in our estimates than planned.
%26quot;So its a combination of higher wage rates and higher use of locums that collectively means an overspend in eight months of the $380,000,%26quot; he says.
However, total salary costs for the board come in $3.5 million under budget for the year to date.
%26quot;The FTE (fulltime equivalent) vacancy level is primarily driving the healthy variance. Other items contributing to the favourable variance include the superannuation budget assumptions. Those people taking up the superannuation component of the employment agreements are less than that predicted,%26quot; the report says.
The report says courses and conference expenses for senior doctors are tracking well behind plan.
%26quot;This is partly due to the vacancy factor and therefore the uptake is not happening.%26quot;
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