Thursday 15 January 2009

LABOR’S 500 NURSE SACKINGS: DELLA BOSCA MUST STOP CUTTING FRONTLINE HEALTH SERVICES

The State Labor Government’s plan to axe 500 nurses across NSW will be a disaster for our hospitals and will push those staff left behind to breaking point, Shadow Minister for Health Jillian Skinner said today.

“Labor’s plan to sack 500 nurses will be a catastrophe for our hospitals, whether they be major metropolitan teaching centres or smaller regional facilities,” Mrs Skinner said.

“Staff are already stretched to breaking point by a State Labor Government more interested in putting resources into backroom bureaucrats instead of frontline medical services in our hospitals,” she said.

“The mini-budget cut $64 million in funding for Area Health Services, and now those cuts are starting to take effect.

“Health Minister John Della Bosca’s explanation that he is moving casuals to permanent positions won’t be believed by frontline nurses who are losing their jobs.

“Memo John Della Bosca: stop sacking nurses, stop plotting and start working for the families of NSW who pay you to manage the hospital system.

“John Della Bosca should stop plotting to dethrone Premier Nathan Rees and start working to solve the problems in our hospitals.

“Only a government as incompetent as this State Labor Government could be sacking 500 nurses, while at the same time engaging in a recruitment drive to fill more than 1,100 vacant nursing positions across NSW.

“Everyone agrees our hospitals need more nurses – only a Health Minister as incompetent and muddleheaded as John Della Bosca could think the solution was to sack 500 nurses.

“John Della Bosca will try and tell the public he’s moving positions around, or some other bureaucratic nonsense, but the truth is that area health service funding has been cut by $64 million, and the State Labor Government is sacking nurses as a result,” Mrs Skinner said.