TURNBULL’S LATEST ATTACK ON PUBLIC HOSPITALS
Waiting times for elective surgery and in emergency departments are set to blow out even further under Turnbull’s latest cuts to hospitals.
Reports today confirm that Turnbull plans to pursue retrospective cuts that will see every public hospital in Australia worse off.
This is just another sign of how out of touch Turnbull is – despite the fact that Australians are languishing on waiting lists for critical treatment, he is set to cut hospitals further.
Tellingly, the Liberals’ latest attack on public hospitals is being led by Treasurer Scott Morrison – yet more proof that the Liberals only ever see health as a source of savings.
Turnbull has already cut $2 billion from public hospitals over the next three years. Despite the best efforts of state and territory governments, this is pushing up elective surgery and emergency department waiting times around Australia, with just three of 48 targets met in the Australian Medical Association’s latest Public Hospital Report Card.
A further cut would put even more pressure on our public hospitals, hurting patients and families worse than ever.
If Turnbull thinks there are technical issues with the calculation of public hospital funding, he should work with the states and territories to fix them going forward.
But trying to use technicalities as an excuse for further cuts while Australians wait longer for critical treatment is proof that this is an out-of-touch Government that can’t be trusted on health.