KATY’S CONFUSION ON HEALH REFORM PLANS
Despite only just signing up to the Prime Minister’s rushed health reform plans two days ago, ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher already appears to be contradicting and undermining the Prime Minister about the detail of the plan and remains confused about aspects of the plan, Shadow Minister for Health Jeremy Hanson said today.
“The Commonwealth health reform plan includes a proposal to establish Local Hospital Network’s (LHN’s) which according to the Prime Minister means ACT will be in an LHN which includes smaller regional hospitals such as Queanbeyan, Yass and Cooma. Katy Gallagher seems to be confused with this aspect of the plan, and does not believe that the ACT should be part of the Commonwealth’s intended LHN, but remain as a stand-alone entity as it is currently.
“Although these networks were the centrepiece of Rudd’s reform, it seems that they have been significantly diluted and now will be nothing more than an additional level of State Bureaucracy. The ACT’s promised network is now nothing more than an additional layer of bureaucracy to sit over the ACT’s two hospitals. The Minister needs to explain why this is necessary and how it will make our hospitals more effective or efficient.
“This plan is not what had been promised by Kevin Rudd before COAG. It provides additional unnecessary bureaucracy to the ACT and Katy Gallagher is clearly confused about what the future of an ACT LNN will be. These are the kind of details that the Government should have worked through before agreeing to such a massive and rushed, last minute election year health policy,” Mr Hanson said today.
22 April 2010
