The Southern District Health Board has clocked up a bigger shortfall in six months of the financial year than its budgeted deficit for the entire year.
Figures at yesterday's full board meeting in Invercargill show it was $14.9 million in deficit in the first six months of 2014-15; its projected annual deficit is $14.8 million.
Chairman Joe Butterfield said it was best the board signalled the problem to Wellington officials sooner, rather than later, because ''money in Wellington is tight''.
Board member Richard Thomson feared the board could be at risk of having a ''working capital issue''.
Finance head Peter Beirne said the board expected to receive deficit support from the Government.
The matter prompted only a short discussion, but was likely to have been discussed in more depth when the public was excluded.
One of the items listed for the closed session of the meeting was the annual plan, of which the 2014-15 budget is a part.
