Wed, 7 Aug 2002

Broken Collar-bone in a Broken-Down Hospital

Libertarianz health deregulation spokesman Dr Richard McGrath today challenged supporters of the government's die-while-you-wait 'health' system to step up to the plate and defend Auckland Hospital's treatment of teenage patient Tony Chester, whose operation on a broken collar bone was repeatedly postponed until his father stepped in and had him treated at a private hospital.

"Tony lost 5 kg in weight while the hospital starved him and confined him to a hospital bed for 6 days," notes McGrath, who says that this is a direct result of the government's Rationed Care policy in health care, "in which the funding for public hospitals is coercively extracted from each according to his ability, and then dribbled out slowly to the lucky few. Unfortunately, Tony found he was not one of the lucky ones."

McGrath points out that in the normal world greater demand is a good thing, and usually a spur to increased supply. This is not the case with government facilities however. "In the private sector, where the customer is king, demand is met by an expansion in available services. However, when complaints arise about bulging hospital waiting lists, the government's response instead is to block people from getting a place in the queue."

"Up to half a person's earnings are extorted from them to bankroll a hospital system that can't even fix a boy's broken collar bone in reasonable time. Tax victims are forced to underwrite a monoply accident insurer - ACC - that won't approve claims in reasonable time which would allow private hospital treatment of acute surgical problems," McGrath added.

"Could someone in parliament please justify the continued existence of our broken-down third-rate public hospital and accident cover infrastructures?"

Libertarianz believe that a person's life is their own, and that each person - using the money that Michael Cullen currently steals from them - should be allowed to purchase better quality health care than the current public hospital system can ever offer.

ENDS

Dr Richard McGrath * Libertarianz Health Deregulation Spokesman * Phone 025 2300 868 * mcgrath@no-income-tax.com

www.libertarianz.org.nz www.libz.org

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