PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has weighed into the dispute about health funding, accusing the state government of misleading people.
State Health Minister David Davis condemned the federal government for reducing Victoria’s health services funding by $107 million because of a drop in population growth.
Reduced hospital budgets would hit hard, he said, with demand on services increasing in outer metropolitan areas like Wyndham.
“Wards and beds are already closing as a result of the federal funding cuts . . . surgery lists are being cut and the impact will show up in future months as more and more patients wait longer and longer for elective surgery.”
SEE: Werribee Mercy cuts mean patients wait longer
But Lalor MP Ms Gillard said the state government’s claims were a “cynical attempt” to divert attention away from their own savage health cuts of $616 million.
“No government has ever injected as much additional money into health than this federal Labor government and we are rightly proud of our track record,” she said.
Ms Gillard said she was “concerned and disappointed” that staff and patients at Werribee Mercy Hospital had been caught in the crossfire.
“We are a community that has so many new families, so many new mums, but we’re going to keep investing to keep meeting these needs.”
Western Metropolitan Liberal MP Andrew Elsbury called on the federal government to reinstate funding.
