National needs to come clean about what else it plans to
cut, as patients are left waiting in soiled beds at a
hospital emergency department.
“This is the latest
disturbing example of a health system under enormous
pressure,” Labour Campaign Chair Kieran McAnulty
said.
“New Zealanders deserved to know what
National’s plans for further cuts would mean for the
services they rely on.
“This is what happens when a
government keeps talking about cutting costs without being
honest about the consequences. We cannot afford another
three years of National.
“Patients shouldn’t be
left waiting in soiled beds. Nurses and doctors shouldn’t
be forced to work in conditions they describe as an
‘absolute nightmare’ because they haven’t got the
staffing promised.
“And New Zealanders shouldn’t
have to wonder whether the next cut will make an already
stretched health system even worse.
“If National
won’t say how they are going to fund essential services,
then it has only one other option: more cuts.
“So
what is on the chopping block? More nurses? More hospital
services? More frontline staff? More appointments? More
support for patients?
“You cannot keep cutting the
health system and then act surprised when patients and staff
pay the price.
“National needs to come clean. What
are they going to cut to balance the books?
“Because
everything is the chopping block for National. We can’t
afford another three years of National,” Kieran McAnulty
said.
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