DOCTORS REFORM SOCIETY

Media Release

Monday, 4 December 2006

 

HEALTH REPORT IGNORES REAL ISSUES IN EFFORT TO SUPPORT PRIVATISATION OF HEALTH SYSTEM

 

 

"The House of Representatives report on ways to improve our health system is essentially aimed at more effectively privatising our health system and leaving those not rich enough to afford private health insurance to the mercy of a degraded public system," said Dr Tim Woodruff, President, Doctors Reform Society. "The support for a National Health Agenda is welcome but mainly hot air when read in the context of the whole report."

 

"The usual calls for better workforce policy looks ridiculous when taxpayer support for privatisation has resulted in the lack of public facilities in which to teach health professionals," said Dr Woodruff. " The report also conveniently ignores the reality that the shortage of surgeons in public hospitals is because they're working next door in the private hospital."

 

"The demand that public hospital funding should be dependant on achieving certain standards looks hypocritical when those same standards are not required by private hospitals which are heavily funded by our taxes"

 

"Whilst the support for Federal funding of public dental care and public hospital outpatients is very welcome and long overdue," said Dr Woodruff, " the report ignores the general paucity of funding for the public sector whilst considering new ways of expanding the private sector, with no consideration of the fact that the majority of Australians cannot afford private care."

 

"Equity is mentioned in passing, but with a user pays ideology dominating the terms of reference and the committee itself, one could not reasonably expect that the report would show real consideration for the majority of Australians totally dependant on the public system."