The Treasurer’s announcement today that 224 full time equivalent staff will be cut from the Department of Health and Human Services and the state’s public hospitals will lead to a decline in the quality and availability of health services in Tasmania, Greens’ Health spokesperson, Cassy O’Connor MP, said today.
“Front line health services will be impacted with staffing cuts of this scale,” Ms O’Connor said.
“Today’s announcement follows the Budget decision to demand $111 million in savings from the state’s public hospitals this year, and the $99 million earmarked to be cut from the DHHS budget.”
“Like a self-anointed, small town super hero, Health Minister, Michael Ferguson, struts around claiming he is going to fix the health system and ‘rescue the Royal’.”
“Meanwhile in Cabinet, he’s agreeing to cut staff and services in his own department while apparently blithely accepting the $1.7 billion the Abbott Government has vowed to cut from Tasmania’s health system over the next decade.”
“It just doesn’t add up. Massive funding cuts and 224 staff to be shed from an already under-resourced agency will impact on the front line.”
“The Minister needs to honestly explain how front line health services won’t be negatively impacted and how Tasmanians who rely on our health system won’t also, ultimately, be made to pay a high price for the blunt instrument that passes for human resources’ policy under the Hodgman government,” Ms O’Connor said.