Napthine Government must restore funding to keep Victorians healthy
The Medical Scientists Association of Victoria (MSAV) has blasted the Victorian Government’s budget as failing to deliver better health outcomes for all Victorians. The MSAV highlighted that the Budget, while spending big on health infrastructure, has failed to adequately address the dwindling professional health workforce.
Dr Rosemary Kelly, MSAV secretary said:
“It’s great that the Napthine Government is spending more money on health infrastructure. But his government is dreaming if they think this answers the state’s health problems.
“There is nothing in Victoria’s budget to increase health services by addressing the cuts to the professional health workforce.
“They can’t expect to improve health outcomes while replacing highly qualified staff with less qualified staff under the banner of allied health assistants.
“The Premier and Minister for Health, David Davis, are failing to realise that to truly lift health outcomes for all Victorians means properly staffing hospitals and community health centres.
“This is about making sure Victoria has the best and brightest scientists, psychologists and pharmacists working in our hospitals and community health centres delivering high quality outcomes for patients.”
Dr Rosemary Kelly continued:
“The formula for improving health outcomes for all Victorians is not complicated and it certainly doesn’t take a rocket scientist just to work it out.
“Quality healthcare doesn’t come from infrastructure spending; highly qualified staff are needed to deliver the high quality outcomes for Victorians.
“To truly improve health care outcomes for Victorians, the state government must invest in its workforce, not find new ways of outsourcing services to providers only interested in profits or dumbing down the workforce required to deliver quality health outcomes to patients.
“The MSAV calls on the Napthine Government to rethink its healthcare spending and focus on rebuilding the professional health workforce needed to meet growing demand.”
