Hospital Fiasco Government's Responsibility

New Zealand First has called on the Government to take responsibility for, and fix, the shortage of beds at Auckland City Hospital.

“The public are being diverted but not hoodwinked by the Auckland District Health Board’s censure of health professionals who have been highlighting the deficiencies of the new facility, said leader Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“With Scrooge Cullen sitting on a huge surplus for use in election year the Government clearly has the resources to solve the problem. Instead it is content to hide behind its creation and appointment, the health board, and to hell with those on the waiting lists.

“The news this week is all bad with the number of operations at Nelson and Wairau hospitals being reduced while several reports highlight the additional stresses, strains, and financial and personal costs resulting from the lack of timely treatment,” said Mr Peters.

“The clerical removal of patients from waiting lists to make the government look good, the poor planning of new facilities, the obfuscation of health statistics hidden away in a myriad of Health Board reports, and the attempts to gag those with the courage to speak up about these serious shortcomings are all signs of a seriously compromised health system.

“This arrogant Labour-administration needs to heed both the experts and the patients and address these problems now,” said Mr Peters.

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