Ferguson’s refusal to listen puts RHH workers in asbestos risk

 Health Minister badly lets hospital construction workers down with his ignorance
 Government has been warned for months on accuracy of asbestos register
 Fresh audits on sites need to be launched to prevent future exposure

Dangerously ill-informed Health Minister Michael Ferguson needs to immediately stop construction work in key sections of his disastrous Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment and launch fresh worksite audits after it was revealed workers had potentially been exposed to asbestos.

Shadow Health Minister Rebecca White said confirmation today that up to 14 workers have potentially been exposed to asbestos in an area of E-Block underlined Mr Ferguson’s dangerous habit of refusing to take advice or listen to the concerns of frontline workers.

“Our first thoughts and concerns are for those workers who have potentially been exposed to hazardous material and the Minister needs to be doing everything he can to ensure they are given support,” Ms White said.

“But the simple fact is that for months now, unions representing workers at the site have been telling the government that the asbestos register is not accurate.

“By refusing to listen – just as he has with staff in the emergency department who have been warning him that the bed shortage has reached a crisis stage – he has caused a critical breakdown in the system and is putting workers at risk.

“To prevent against future exposures each site should have a fresh audit before work commences.

“Labor presented a petition to the Parliament last year calling for this to happen but the Government did not listen.

“Additionally Mr Ferguson needs to immediately explain how testing procedures which he claimed initially had returned negative results could have been so badly botched.

“Minister Ferguson also needs to explain why he continues to blame everyone but himself for the continuing mistakes.

“Why is it that every time there is a mishap at the site, the Minister forces others to keep Tasmanians informed while he is nowhere to be seen?”
Rebecca White MP Shadow Health and Preventative Health Minister