Improvement In Performance For Good Health Wanganui

Health Minister Bill English said today he had provisionally supported Good Health Wanganui's business plan for the year and noted that the hospital's forecast result for the current financial year was a marked improvement on the 1997/98 result.

"The hospital is forecasting a loss of $0.97 million in the 1998/99 year, which is a significant improvement on the $6.5 million loss last year.

"A key issue facing Good Health Wanganui is the loss of forensic mental health services from October next year. The hospital has submitted an updated business plan which identifies the impact of these losses and identifies strategies for reaching a break-even financial position.

"It is important that Good Health Wanganui continue to work hard towards achieving a surplus because the people of Wanganui need the certainty and security of knowing their hospital is in a sound financial position.

"Current highlights of the hospital's performance are that the average length of stay is 2.7 days, which makes the hospital second in its group of eight comparable hospitals, and its average bed occupancy rate is 87 percent, which is third out of the eight.

"The hospital is continuing to work on condensing services onto the Wanganui Hospital site, improving communication between staff groups, developing new revenue opportunities and reducing costs," said Mr English.