ALLEGATIONS SURGERY LISTS ARE MANIPULATED MUST BE INVESTIGATED
Today in the Legislative Assembly, I will be calling on Health Minister, Ms Gallagher, to properly investigate and report back to the Assembly whether elective surgery patients have had their priority downgraded in an attempt to make elective surgery waiting lists look better.
While the Minister was yesterday boasting of sipping rosés in the South of France on her recent holiday, she was yesterday unable to address the very serious allegations of manipulation of surgery lists that have been made by a patient and a doctor, Shadow Minister for Health Jeremy Hanson said today.
Last week a patient and a doctor both alleged that urgent elective surgery patients were being downgraded by ACT Health. Dr Peter Hughes, the ACT President of the Visiting Medical Officers Association, said downgrading patient’s categories was;
‘An illegal stunt that’s done by the administration to try and make their figures look better.”
(Dr Peter Hughes, Canberra Times 12 June 2010)
Elective surgery patient David Wentworth who had his urgent surgery downgraded stated that he was informed by ACT Health staff that;
“Anyone who isn’t operated on in the 30 days, the hospital downgrades.”
(Elective Surgery patient David Wentworth, Canberra Times 12 June 2010)
“These are very serious allegations that require an immediate and comprehensive response from the Minister,” Mr Hanson said. “The Minister will have to the end of the sitting week to report back to the Assembly with an explanation of how many times urgent elective surgery has been downgraded and the reasons for those downgrades.
“Katy Gallagher boasting about sampling rosés in the South of France is a slap in the face to all the ACT elective surgery patients who wait longer than anywhere else in the country, and she should turn her attention back to her ministerial responsibilities,” Jeremy Hanson concluded.
23 June 2010
