AUSTRALIA: A TOTALLY CORRUPT PUBLIC MEDICINE SYSTEM

In the State of Queensland

Elective surgery lists at Bundaberg hospital were given priority by how much money operations brought in rather than the health needs of patients, the health inquiry has heard. Inquiry commissioner Tony Morris, QC, said he was "physically sickened" by evidence showing that staff at the public hospital were under pressure to meet surgery "targets" in order to get more funding from head office.

The inquiry was told previously that more complex operations helped the hospital reach its targets sooner, which encouraged Bundaberg Base Hospital's former director of surgery Dr Jayant Patel to perform procedures outside his and the hospital's scope. Mr Morris identified the policy yesterday as evidence of a systemic problem and said he did not necessarily blame the hospital's stood-aside director of medical services, Dr Darren Keating, for urging staff to meet the targets. "I am physically sickened by the thought that patients are being treated as units of commerce to be pushed through to get extra money," he said.

In another development last night, Mr Morris indicated that the hospital's director of nursing Linda Mulligan would not face criminal charges or referral to the Crime and Misconduct Commission on the "evidence so far", saying that allegations and criticisms against her concerned her management style and inaccessibility. Mr Morris said the inquiry could not descend into the minutiae of claims and counter-claims about how Ms Mulligan managed staff. But he said he could not extend the same qualified clearance to Dr Keating and district manager Peter Leck.

Earlier, senior Bundaberg hospital operating theatre nurse Jenny White said despite the extra workload placed on staff by the hospital's money-hungry structure, the resulting cash was rarely spent on increasing staff numbers, providing more training for nurses or getting new equipment.

Queensland Nurses Union lawyer John Allen tendered a February 2005 e-mail from Dr Keating to chief operating theatre nurse Gail Doherty, in which he stressed the hospital was behind its target and therefore risked missing out on more than $750,000. "Should the target not be achieved, BHSD (Bundaberg hospital) will not get another chance to upgrade the target and hence lose flexibility and significant dollars (with increased scrutiny of all dollars spent in OT)," Dr Keating wrote. "Therefore it is imperative that everyone continue to pull together and maximise elective surgery thruput (sic) until Jun (sic) 30. "All cancellations should be minimal with these cases pushed thru (sic) as much as possible."

The inquiry has already heard that Bundaberg surgeon Jayant Patel bragged to staff that he was untouchable because he generated so much money for the hospital's management through the high number of operations he performed. Dr Patel fled Australia in April and has since been linked to the deaths of at least 87 patients.

Ms White, who stood down from her position as nurse-in-charge of the operating theatre last year but still works in the unit, said the staffing and funding problems she complained about still existed. Queensland Health barrister David Boddice put it to Ms White last night that surgery was not performed with the priority of earning money, but she refused to agree. She also did not agree with his assertion that elective surgery targets went up and down each year – she said they were always increasing.

Source




Massachusetts: Romney eyes tax penalties for uninsured: "Massachusetts residents who choose not to obtain health insurance would face tax penalties and even the garnishing of their wages under a proposal Governor Mitt Romney unveiled yesterday. Romney says the 'individual mandate' he is proposing, part of his broader plan to cover the roughly 500,000 people who are uninsured, would not cost the state any money. But some healthcare specialists say the approach might cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than state taxpayers currently provide for government health coverage. Romney's plan would require all residents in Massachusetts to have some form of health insurance or agree to pay their medical bills out of their own pockets. No other state has such a requirement, and if Romney manages to make it law, it would be a compelling accomplishment he could point to if he runs for president."

***************************

For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.

Comments? Email me here. If there are no recent posts here, the mirror site may be more up to date. My Home Page is here or here.

***************************