Thursday 29 January 2009
LABOR’S HEALTH RECORD SHOWS EXTRA HEALTH MONEY WOULD BE WASTED
The State Labor Government’s appalling mismanagement of the NSW Health system will mean any extra funds gained from the Federal Government will more than likely be wasted by an inefficient and broken hospital network, NSW Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell and Shadow Minister for Health Jillian Skinner said today.
“After 14 years of Labor in NSW, we spend more than $13 billion on health and we can’t afford to pay doctors, can’t ensure morphine is at all our hospitals and can’t even pay hospital bills on time,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“Health takes up 27% of the entire State Budget, but under Nathan Rees and Labor, frontline doctors and nurses are being starved of resources,” he said.
“Money is clearly not reaching the frontline of our hospitals, and Nathan Rees’ solution is simply to beg for more money.
”Given the State Labor Government and Nathan Rees’ spending record, why would Kevin Rudd think giving them more money would solve the health problems in NSW?
“If you were a bank manager and someone with Nathan Rees’ payment record came looking for money, you’d be laughed out the door.
“More money from the Federal Government won’t solve the structural problems underpinning the unpaid bills crisis in NSW, it won’t fix the problem of doctors who aren’t being paid out of a $13 billion state health budget, and it won’t stop nurses from having to personally pay for supplies because Nathan Rees doesn’t have the fundamentals right within the health system.”
Mrs Skinner said the NSW health system needs to be fixed so more dollars flow to the frontline in our hospitals.
“Health Minister John Della Bosca keeps claiming there are more nurses and doctors in the health system, well where are they?” she said.
“All the public knows is that they continue to put more money into health spending and nothing seems to change,” Mrs Skinner said.