Hospitals Misled By Minister
“New Zealand’s public hospital managers and medical staff have every reason to be angry with this government and the minister Annette King over the misrepresentation of available funding” says Ken Shirley, ACT New Zealand’s Health Spokesman.
“The inescapable fact is that this years
budget provides the lowest percentage increase in government
health funding for 7 years with a 4.5% increase compared
with an average annual increase of almost 8% over the
previous 7 budgets.”
“In Opposition Annette King raised
expectations of improved pay for health professionals. In
government she has failed to deliver the resource and is
squeezing the HHS’s and trying to blame them for her
failings. The Minister is telling the Doctors that the
money is available when the hospitals know its not.
“The
Minister should come clean and tell the health professionals
the truth about the funding, to assuage their expectations.
She is making matters worse by leading Doctors to believe
that the hospitals have the money for high settlements.
“The HHS’s have no scope to meet the pay demands of the
young doctors and nurses from this year’s allocations which
also provide a decrease in funds available for capital
expenditure.
“Her rhetoric of blaming the previous
government does not wash when she and her Cabinet colleagues
are responsible for this funding shortage” concluded Ken
Shirley.
ENDS