NSW Liberal Leader Peter Debnam said today the community would see through another Labor lie on hospital waiting lists, with the truth there are 10,230 more people waiting for surgery than when Labor was elected on a promise to halve waiting lists.
“Labor has increased waiting lists, not reduced them, and as Health Minister and now as Premier, Morris Iemma has been central to the problem,” Mr Debnam said.
"Morris Iemma's claim to have reduced long waiting lists is exactly what the Labor Party does in the few months before every election, only to let it blow out again straight after," he said.
ReplyDelete"Morris Iemma has been a failure as Health Minister and Premier, as have his colleagues Carl Scully, Joe Tripodi, Frank Sartor, John Della Bosca, and Eddie Obeid over Labor's 12 years of Government.
“The people of NSW deserve higher standards, better services and balanced budgets.
“According to figures on the NSW Health website in May there were 57,202 people waiting for elective surgery in NSW hospital, that compares to 46,972 in March 1995.
“Shifting patients between categories to make lists appear shorter does not ease the pain of these people.
“Morris Iemma as a former Health Minister and now Premier is directly responsible for helping add another 10,000 people to those lists.
“Morris Iemma must explain to those people who are sick and injured why they are waiting to have their operations done in the public health system.
“Among those waiting are 1,397 children needing surgery at the Children’s Hospital Westmead, including 355 children waiting for ear, nose and throat surgery, 209 for eye surgery, 187 for plastic surgery and 168 for orthopaedic surgery," Mr Debnam said.