A major publication by the Auditor-General identified Portland District Health and Colac Area Health as two out of 12 hospitals statewide with seven days or less of operating expenditure last financial year. 

This means Portland, Colac and the other identified hospitals could potentially only continue to operate for up to a week if they did not receive further state funding at the start of this financial year. 

The Auditor-General’s report stated that while this was an improvement on the previous financial year, when 23 public hospitals were in the same position, it meant public hospitals were still at a significant risk of not being able to fund operating activities. 

The report went on to state “if these hospitals did not receive a grant payment during that seven-day period, they would be required to access other funding sources, which may include seeking a recallable grant from the department.

“Ultimately, holding a low cash on-hand balance could put at risk the ability of these hospitals to respond in the event of unexpected costs.”

Portland District Health was contacted by The Standard but was unavailable for comment yesterday afternoon.

Other hospitals identified by the Auditor-General as having cash holdings of seven days or less included Melbourne Health (which operates the Royal Melbourne Hospital), Alfred Health (Melbourne’s Royal Alfred Hospital), Mercy Public, Northeast Wangaratta, Benalla, Northern (suburban hospitals), East Wimmera, Central Gippsland and Barwon health services.