Rudd’s policy vacuum on health as Coalition delivers practical first step to fixing our hospitals

February 15, 2010

Federal MP Luke Hartsuyker has welcomed the announcement of the Coalition’s first practical step to fix our public hospitals with confirmation the next Coalition Government will install community hospital boards at each hospital in New South Wales.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott has announced that the local community boards will include medical professionals and community representatives.

“Community controlled public hospitals focus on meeting patient needs rather than just meeting state government targets which have little regard for delivering quality services,” Mr Hartsuyker said. "Mr Rudd is trusting the management of our hospitals to the same city-centric government and bureaucrats in Sydney that have failed so badly in the past. No-one can pretend that fixing public hospitals is easy, but Kevin Rudd promised the Australian people that the buck stopped with him on hospitals and he would end the blame game. He promised to take control of our hospitals if they weren’t fixed by June 30 last year. But once gain it was all talk and no action.

“The local health system has deteriorated under Federal Labor and Kevin Rudd must take responsibility. Across the region the North Coast Area Health Service has cut more than 400 jobs and smaller hospitals such as Maclean, Bellingen and Macksville are being squeezed.  In Kempsey and Coffs Harbour staff are being asked to do more with less and the system is reaching breaking point. Instead of investing in more doctors and nurses both Federal and State Labor are clogging up the system with more bureaucrats.

"That's where the Liberal and Nationals’ solution will make a real difference.  Our hospitals need community boards, managed by CEOs which are accountable to the boards and then in turn accountable to local people.  The Nationals have long supported such an idea, because we live in the communities that are most affected by poor management. We understand how much expertise is held by local health professionals.

"This is the first and necessary step towards a better public hospital system. No-one in Cowper seriously thinks the NSW Labor Government is doing a good job on health, so why does Kevin Rudd?”