Hodgson’s U-turns, spin and deception

Only months after accusing the National Party of crisis-mongering, the Government is spinning in overdrive to cover its incompetence in health, says National’s Health spokesman Tony Ryall.

"The Government denied there was a crisis in elective surgery when National showed that despite an extra $4 billion over six years, fewer people were getting surgery,” says Mr Ryall.

“Yesterday, Labour U-turned and announced $50 million a year for four years, with the laughable promise of 10,000 extra elective operations annually.

"Only weeks ago at the Dunedin School of Medicine, the Government scoffed at National's research showing major GP shortages in many parts of the country. ‘More crisis-mongering’, they said.

“Today, the Health Minister has miraculously admitted there are problems in rural areas and is promising an inadequate number of new training placements.

"Yesterday, the Prime Minister U-turned again and apologised for the offensive use of ‘cancerous’, a term that upset many cancer sufferers across the country.

“The Government tried to create a deception when it also announced yesterday a greater involvement of private hospitals – yet a short time later the Health Minister released a Cabinet paper showing that private hospitals will be used only as a short-term last resort if no public hospital anywhere can do the work.

"And today, the Government has also re-announced some operating theatre numbers in a desperate effort to recover ground.

"Pete Hodgson might be busy doing the Prime Minister's damage control over the pledge card rort, but his Band-Aids-for-headlines approach has created more damage in the health sector than anything else.

"The past few days of U-turns, spin and deception reveal that Labour's polling has shown the public have lost confidence in their handling of health.

“National's sustained attack on the Government's poor handling of our important health service will continue. We are raising the issues that matter to Kiwi families."

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