QUEENSLAND Labor is reluctant to say whether it has inherited a good health system from the previous Liberal National Party (LNP) government.
IT comes after former Health Minister Lawrence Springborg, now Opposition Leader, said the new government was being left with a system in much better shape than what he inherited when coming to office three years ago.
But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Wednesday was hesitant to accept or reject Mr Springborg’s claims. “We’re going to have to have a look at that over the coming months and weeks,” Ms Palaszczuk said. “I know that Cameron (Dick) as the health minister will go through that very, very carefully.” However, she did hit out at the former LNP government’s cuts to frontline services, which she said her government would counter by honouring election commitments to introduce a nurse-to-patient ratio and employ more graduate nurses. Mr Springborg was often critical of Labor during his term as health minister, blaming the party for the $1.2 billion Queensland Health payroll debacle and for employing “fake Tahitian prince” Hohepa Morehu-Barlow, who defrauded the department of about $16 million. Ms Palaszczuk was also reluctant to say what Labor would do with the LNP’s Wait Time Guarantee, which started on February 1. The program, which ensures most Queensland public hospital patients will receive their surgery within the medically recommended time, was introduced after surgery wait times were significantly cut under the LNP. But Mr Dick said comparing the LNP’s track record with that of former Labor governments was like comparing “apples with oranges”. He said the LNP government benefited from national health reforms and a surge in funding from the former federal Labor government. “That had a significant impact on waiting times, not just in hospitals, but through dental health care,” Mr Dick said.