District Health Boards Record Operating Deficit

24 November 2004

District Health Board Financial Statistics: September 2004 quarter

District Health Boards Record Operating Deficit

The combined deficit of New Zealand's 21 district health boards (DHBs) was $15.3 million for the September 2004 quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. This was a $14.8 million increase on the $0.5 million deficit recorded in the June 2004 quarter, and is $10.2 million higher than the deficit in the September 2003 quarter.

Total DHB expenses rose by $34.2 million, to $2,031.0 million in the September 2004 quarter. The two major components of this expenditure are the direct provision of public hospital and health services (HHS), at $1,174.8 million, and the purchase of medical services from non-government providers and inter-DHB services, at $832.0 million. The total operating expenses of the HHS providers were 0.5 percent lower than in the June 2004 quarter, but 6.8 percent higher when compared with the September 2003 quarter. Employee costs, the key expense item, was down 2.5 percent (to $713.7 million) compared with the June 2004 quarter.

Total DHB revenue rose to $2,015.7 million, with funding from the Ministry of Health increasing by $14.7 million (to $1,660.5 million) compared with the June 2004 quarter. Total DHB investment in fixed assets was $88.6 million in the September 2004 quarter, down 20.5 percent on the June 2004 quarter. For the year ended 30 September 2004, DHBs spent $363.5 million on additions to fixed assets, down 20.6 percent on the previous 12 months.

Brian Pink

Government Statistician

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