ALMOST every day there is a new story or crisis in ACT Health and the Labor-Greens government refuses to provide any answers, says Acting Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson in calling for a Royal Commission to investigate the “broken” ACT health system.
To enforce his claim, the Canberra Liberals have released a dramatic, staged three-minute video titled “The Painful Truth” that highlights, through news clips and acted sequences, the breadth of ACT health system’s problems focusing on its nation-leading hospital emergency wait times, three-year surgical waitlists, poor workplace culture and anxious frontline staff at breaking point.
“After the 2012 election, Labor did a deal with the Greens to retain power and that is when the
government started diverting money from the hospital to pay for the tram and the ACT health
system has been in decline ever since,” Hanson said.
“The current situation in ACT Health cannot continue and that is why the Canberra Liberals are
calling for a Royal Commission; it is the only way to get real answers and real solutions,” Mr Hanson said.
“It is not good enough for the ACT, the nation’s capital to have the longest emergency department
wait times in the country, tens of thousands of Canberrans languishing on surgery waitlists and
frontline staff at breaking point due to a poor workplace culture.
“We have seen the Fetal Medicine Unit lose its training accreditation, cardiologists warning the
minister her system was ‘dangerous’ and the Australia Medical Association highlighting significant
failures within the ACT health system.
Mr Hanson said a Royal Commission would look at all areas of the ACT health system including
governance, organisation structures, resourcing and effectiveness of Canberra Health Services, ACT Health, Calvary and the Local Hospital Network.
“It is clear the ACT health system is broken, and this Royal Commission is needed for the patients,
the staff doing their best in a broken system and for the future of health care in Canberra.
“The Health Minister and Chief Minister must finally admit the ACT health system is broken and the only way for things to improve the establishment of a Royal Commission.”
“The Painful Truth”: video is accessible here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/syh1lzgj2993qui/sThePainfulTruthV4_1080.mp4?dl=0
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