Board chairman Joe Butterfield said the board had a deficit of $12.78 million in the financial year to April, which was ''unfavourable'' to budget by $1.4 million.
The April financial result was $200,000 over budget as ''personnel costs'' continued to exceed budget, his report said.
Board member Tim Ward told this week's board meeting in Dunedin the 2012-13 financial forecast was for a deficit of $12.5 million.
''It's not going to get any easier in 2014 and the following years. We need to focus on the financial sustainability to support the clinical sustainability.''
Mr Butterfield said he could not agree more.
''I await the May and June results with bated breath ... it's a real concern that we go into those last two months [of the financial year] with a history over the last four or five months of exceeding budget.
''So, therefore, the assumption's got to be there's a likelihood of it happening again and I just hope that's not going to be the case.''
The audit and risk committee recommended the board request $11.9 million of deficit support from Health Minister Tony Ryall this month.
The 2012-13 annual plan signalled a planned deficit of $11 million and the $11.9 million deficit support to ensure the board had a sound cash position, the recommendation said.
''The budgeted cash position at the end of April [2013] was $41 million. The actual cash position was $26.2 million.''
Board deputy chairman Paul Menzies said every time the board asked for deficit support the media reported the financial request as unplanned, ''but this is part of our plan. There is nothing extraordinary or unusual about this. This was planned some time ago.''
