‘Savage’ health cuts compromise care
Safe patient care will suffer if the federal government’s ‘razor gang’ goes ahead with savage cuts to healthcare spending predicted in the upcoming Budget, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) warns.
ANMF federal secretary, Lee Thomas, says patients and their families will suffer.
Federal secretary, Lee Thomas, says ANMF joins other health stakeholders in voicing concerns that cuts to health spending will dramatically impact on the quality of frontline services delivered to patients.
“Before the election, the federal government promised the public there would be no cuts to health, yet an estimated $560 million is about to be stripped from federal funding for hospitals across Australia, with $200 million ripped from NSW alone,” Ms Thomas says.
“Slashing this significant amount of funding will result in fewer and fewer hospitals beds and longer waiting times for surgery,” she adds.
According to Ms Thomas, cuts to health spending may also compromise the level of care delivered to patients by nurses and midwives, who are working in already “overstretched” hospitals.
“We dread to think what’s going to happen if the government takes the axe to health spending and starts to meddle with Medicare by introducing a $6 co-payment for a visit to the GP,” she says.
“More and more people who can’t afford to pay to see a doctor will be forced to queue at the local hospital emergency department, struggling to cope with fewer and fewer resources. Ultimately, it’s patients and their families who will suffer.”
As a major stakeholder in health and aged care, the ANMF will continually work to encourage the federal government to commit to safe patient care for the “sake of all Australians”.
