HSU rejects calls for hospital privatisation

Calls by two Liberal ministers for the privatisation of the management and operation of public hospitals have been condemned by the Health Services Union.

Finance Minister Nick Minchin said yesterday that public hospitals were not being properly run.

"The states should consider outsourcing the management and operation of their hospitals to the private sector, given they seem incapable of running them efficiently," he said.

The comments were supported by the health minister Tony Abbott who said "why not put the management of these hospitals out to tender".

But HSU national secretary Craig Thomson said there was no evidence allowing the private sector to run hospitals would improve services.

Evidence from past experiments with privatisation of hospital services showed it would end up costing more money, thousands would lose their jobs and services would not improve.

"This is the Liberal recipe for everything: hand it off to the private sector," he said.

"The HSU believes patients come before profits and the world class public hospital system we have does not need to be run by the private sector.

"Look at what happened when the Liberal government privatised the Port Macquarie Hospital in NSW - it was a total and utter disaster.

"The same with the Latrobe Hospital in Victoria.

"Australian governments both federal and state need to be aware that there is a vast body of evidence here and overseas that shows handing over essential health services to the private sector is a disaster waiting to happen not only financially but for the staff and patients."

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Last Modified: Thursday, 12-Jan-2006 12:26:46 EST