Health Minister Michael Ferguson has extraordinarily confirmed that staff cuts mean funding allocated to elective surgery cannot be spent.
Shadow Health Minister Rebecca White said the revelation is startling evidence of another broken promise.
“At a time when waiting lists at the Royal Hobart Hospital have blown out by more than 40 per cent, the Liberal Government is sitting on promised money for elective surgery,” Ms White said.
“The reason that more than $4 million will go unspent this financial year is a lack of staff available to perform the surgeries.
“The cruel irony is the Liberals’ cuts to our hospitals to pay for their promises mean they can’t actually fulfil their commitment to elective surgery.
“Today’s confirmation would be very hard to swallow for people desperately waiting for elective surgery procedures.
“It’s not good enough for the Minister to say the money will be allocated down the track, it should have been already spent as they promised.”
Rebecca White MP Shadow Health Minister
