Health services in the Waitaki district, including at Oamaru Hospital, have operated at a surplus for the past financial year, turning around a deficit in 2010-11.
Waitaki District Health Services Ltd, wholly owned by the Waitaki District Council, owns and operates Oamaru Hospital and provides health services in the Waitaki district under contract to the Southern District Health Board.
In his annual report to be presented to a council meeting on Tuesday, company chairman George Berry said there had been an overall operating surplus of $268,824, compared with a $290,940 deficit recorded the previous financial year, although that result was caused by a one-off donation of $500,000 to its charitable trust.
The 2011-12 surplus was achieved as a result of a $676,637 increase in property valuations.
Income was better than budgeted at $11.6 million, compared with almost $11.5 million in 2010-11.
Expenditure was $11.998 million, higher than expected, compared with $11.552 million in 2010-11.
That resulted in a deficit of $407,813. However, the change in property valuations resulted in the $268,824 operating surplus.
Assets held by the company's Waitaki health services charitable trust now totalled almost $5 million, compared with just over $4 million at the start of the financial year.
Trust fund income is used to support the hospital and health services and it receives donations and bequests, managing the investments.
Its funds were being built up to cope with a future increase in demand for aged care, which Mr Berry said in his report was one of the biggest issues facing the company. The proportion of people over 65 living in the Waitaki district is expected to be among the highest in New Zealand by 2021, increasing from about 4700 now to more than 6000.
"Our community is facing a considerable increase, over time, in aged-care needs," Mr Berry said.
The hospital already had a four-bed aged-care unit which was fully occupied. However, the company would be required to increase its range and volume of aged-care health services in the district and was already planning how to meet the needs, he said.
"Aged care is already an area of services that comprises a major part of the community support the hospital and ancillary services provides. It will grow substantially on all local and national indicators of future health care needs."
One of the highlights of the financial year was an agreement reached with the district health board for Oamaru Hospital to use its scanner to provide services to Oamaru patients,rather than patients travelling to Dunedin.
Although the agreement was limited to two referrals a week, it was providing a valuable service and the company hoped it could be increased.
Oamaru patients using the new service had been grateful they could have CT scans done in town rather than travelling to Dunedin, he said.
Other highlights Mr Berry identified included starting a neurology outpatients' clinic, extending the district's outreach diabetes education service, a new private plastic surgery clinic, automatic transfer of radiology images to Dunedin for evaluation, and upgrading the hospital television service to digital.
The highlights
Oamaru Hospital highlights 2011-12:
• 6049 medical bed days
• 2984 assessment, treatment and rehabilitation bed days
• 101 births in maternity centre
• 24 births transferred to Queen Mary, Dunedin
• 173 women received postnatal services
• 7384 patients attended emergency department
• 213 minor operations
• 10,833 meals on wheels delivered
• 11,259 radiology tests
• 9 mobile surgical bus visits with at least 8 procedures a visit
• 11,447 district nursing visits
• Obtained funding for Oamaru patient CT scanning
