Monday 1 March 2010
ONLY NSW LIBERALS & NATIONALS HAVE PLAN TO EMPOWER CLINICIANS AND COMMUNITY
Only the NSW Liberals & Nationals’ plan for health districts with local boards will give clinicians and other health professionals a real say on how health services are delivered to the community, NSW Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell said today.
“The NSW Liberals & Nationals have a plan to genuinely engage and empower health professionals and the community through local health boards,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“We want to work with the best medical workforce in Australia to deliver the best health services to NSW families,” he said.
“Carmel Tebbutt’s announcement shows Labor holds our clinicians in contempt.
“Labor’s Hospital Clinical Councils have no real power – they can’t make decisions on budgets, service delivery or resource allocation – they are simply advisory bodies.
“All the power and decision making will be retained by Labor’s failed Area Health Services and that’s where the real problem is – nothing will change.
“Under Carmel Tebbutt’s model, Labor’s failed Area Health Services will be free to continue ignoring the advice of expert clinicians as they have too often in the past.
“Labor’s Area Health Advisory Council’s failed because they didn’t give communities a real say on how to deliver local health services. Having learned nothing, Labor’s Hospital Clinical Councils will suffer the same problem,” Mr O’Farrell said.
Shadow Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the NSW Liberals & Nationals would engage in a genuine partnership with clinicians.
“We will restore the decision-making power of Hospital General Managers and appoint qualified medical practitioners as Executive Clinical Directors in each Health District,” she said.
“NSW has the most skilled medical workforce in Australia. They want to be involved in the management of our health system, and under our policy they will be.
“Carmel Tebbutt’s plan is to simply set up another powerless body so the Area Health Services can continue to ignore clinicians,” Mrs Skinner said.