Time to Euthanise Die-While-You-Wait Health System

SOLO-NZ Press Release: Time to Euthanise Nanny State's Die-While-You-Wait Health System

Callum McPetrie

April 21, 2008

"When will these strikes end? There have been more in one year alone than I can count. The most recent example is the Junior Doctors' strike, taking place this week," notes SOLO-Youth spokesman Callum McPetrie.

More than 2000 house surgeons and registrars will strike from 7am tomorrow to 7am on Thursday.

"I'm not a unionist, but this time I have to ask: who can blame them?" McPetrie adds.

"The New Zealand public hospital system is a train-wreck—there's no flexibility, work hours are very long, and wages are low compared to other countries. If you're a top doctor in this country, you either enter the private sector, as Wellington's top heart surgeon did last year, or you go overseas, usually across the ditch to Australia or further abroad, to the United States.

"And it's this reality that sees NZ health services fall increasingly behind every year. Constantly, more and more taxpayer money goes into these services, and constantly, the same results. Deteriorating service. Die while you wait. The same socialist shoddy planning and fatal consequences.

"Health Minister David Cunliffe boasts that he's 'running the show.' That's precisely the problem. Health should be liberated from politicians and bureaucrats and privatised. Taxes should be slashed, GST abolished and people left free to patronise the health-care practitioners of their choice. Wages should be determined by the market, which will lure doctors back rather than sending them away.

"Comrade Cunliffe's 'show' resembles North Korea more than a First World health system. Time to put it out of its misery," McPetrie concludes.

ENDS

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