District Health Boards Report Operating Surplus

District Health Board Financial Statistics:
March 2005 quarter

District Health Boards Report Operating Surplus

The combined operating surplus of New Zealand's 21 district health boards (DHBs) was $29.3 million for the March 2005 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. A deficit of $30.3 million was recorded in the December 2004 quarter, while the deficit in the March 2004 quarter was $13.3 million.

Total DHB expenditure fell by $0.8 million, to $2,066.9 million, in the March 2005 quarter. The two major components of this expenditure are the direct provision of public hospital and health services (HHS), at $1,197.0 million, and the purchase of medical services from non-government providers and inter-DHB services, at $847.2 million. The total operating expenses of the HHS providers were 0.5 percent lower than in the December 2004 quarter, but 8.0 percent higher when compared with the March 2004 quarter.

Employee costs, the key expense item, were up 1.5 percent (to $744.8 million) compared with the December 2004 quarter. This quarterly rise in employee costs was, however, offset by a fall of similar magnitude in the rest of operating expenses.

Total DHB revenue rose to $2,096.3 million, with funding from the Ministry of Health increasing by $58.6 million (to $1,737.5 million) compared with the December 2004 quarter.

Total DHB investment in fixed assets was $72.2 million in the March 2005 quarter, down 27.8 percent on the December 2004 quarter. For the year ended 31 March 2005, DHBs spent $370.3 million on additions to fixed assets, down 10.4 percent on the previous 12 months.

Brian Pink
Government Statistician

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