Abbott announces hospital takeover plan

Doctors say a coalition plan to hand control of public hospitals to local community
boards is doomed to failure unless accompanied by a significant funding boost.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) gave in-principle support to the plan but
warned questions remained over funding arrangements and how it would be rolled out
nationally.
Under the plan, which Opposition Leader Tony Abbott likened to the federal
intervention into Northern Territory indigenous communities, local boards would be
introduced in every major public hospital in NSW and Queensland.
Each board would include the chair of the relevant medical staff council and
director of nursing, as well as community representatives, and would work with a
chief executive to manage hospital budgets.
The federal government would appoint boards and set hospital funding levels but
wouldn't be able to cut funding when hospitals raised money from private patients or
fundraising.
Mr Abbott said the introduction of community boards would make hospitals more
accountable and clear the "systemic malaise" currently present in the two states'
public hospitals.
"That is the change that our public hospital system needs. That is the change that
the next coalition government will urgently implement," he said.
"Particularly in NSW and Queensland, where chronic systemic mismanagement really
requires federal intervention along the lines of the intervention in the Northern
Territory's remote communities back in 2007."
But AMA president Andrew Pesce said while the plan was a step in the right
direction, more detail was needed on how the policy would be rolled out and how it
would be funded.
"It is not clear from this announcement what the commonwealth and state
responsibilities would be in terms of funding and ownership of public hospitals," Dr
Pesce said.
"Nor is there any indication what the coalition has in mind for the other states and
territories.
"Whether the boards are local, regional, state or national, they will all fail
without a significant boost to public hospital funding."
The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) criticised the plan, saying it would lead to
a duplication of services, micromanagement and unworkable healthcare outcomes.
"Although we respect the needs of all communities to have their say, the
micromanagement of the healthcare system will not deliver improved health reforms to
the scale Australia requires now and into the future," ANF federal secretary Ged
Kearney said.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon said it was "lightweight policy" which would not
address problems facing hospitals right across the country.
"This is not a solution, this is just an idea from a former health minister who had
12 years in government [and] never took such action, and has come up with a
half-baked policy on the run," Ms Roxon said.
"It's not national, it doesn't eliminate waste and it doesn't fund a single extra
doctor, nurse or hospital bed," Ms Roxon said.
The coalition announcement, made on Sunday at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital,
signals health is set to once again be a key battleground in the looming federal
election.
Before the 2007 election, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised to seize control of the
country's hospitals by mid-2009 if the states and territories had not begun a
national reform plan.
Mr Rudd defended the lack of progress in hospital reform but said the government's
objective had not changed.
"We make no apology for the fact that we've taken longer than was planned to
finalise this strategy," Mr Rudd said.
"We believe the system requires urgent surgery, we need more hospital beds, we need
the elimination of waste between the commonwealth and the states," he said.
Mr Abbott said he would renegotiate the healthcare agreement with the states and
territories within six months of taking office to action the plan.
But he is likely to face opposition from the states, with Queensland already
scoffing at the idea.
Queensland Health Minister Paul Lucas said communities did not have the expertise
required to manage the enormous medical complexities of hospitals.
"Having a local hospital board is a recipe for ... debt being run up by people who
do not have the expertise to run them," he told AAP.