p align=”justify”>Despite promising before the election that there would be no cuts to health, Tony Abbott’s first budget includes a cut of more than $50 billion to Australia’s public hospitals.
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Despite promising before the election that there would be no cuts to health, Tony Abbott’s first budget includes a cut of more than $50 billion to Australia’s public hospitals.
These cuts start today.
Over the next decade these cuts of more than $50 billion are the equivalent of sacking 1 in 5 nurses, sacking 1 in 3 doctors, and the equivalent of closing 1 in 13 hospital beds.
The inevitable result of these cuts will be increased emergency department waiting times, increased elective surgery waiting times, and fewer hospital beds across the country.
The simple fact is Tony Abbott’s cuts will mean demand for services will overwhelm the supply of funding. The outcome will be that only the richest Australians will get the healthcare they need.
Tony Abbott does not have a mandate to destroy Medicare. Australians should be able to rely on their Medicare card not their credit card, but if Tony Abbott gets his way Medicare cards will become worthless.
New South Wales has warned that the Commonwealth share of its health budget will halve.
For South Australia the cuts are the equivalent of closing every bed at one of the state’s major teaching hospitals.
When ambulances arrive at emergency departments and there are no beds and no doctors to receive patients, it will be because of Tony Abbott’s $50 billion hospital cuts.