Aug 032007
 

Senior doctor quits over hospital takeover
Noses and faces, dear reader, as in the cutting off of to spite.


The thing is, has Doctor Saunders cut off his nose to spite his face, or is he figuratively throwing up his arms in disgust and opting out of an untenable situation? Given that medicos like Dr. Saunders know much more about medical needs of a community and administration of a given level of resources both human and fiscal to see to those needs, you’d have to say that Howard’s grandiose largesse has thrown all planning out the window. I can understand why the good doctor wouldn’t want to try a re-hash, which will likely be subject to more ‘intervention’. As his boss states in the article:

“I can’t say that these things are surprising – I had expected that any significant change from the Clinical Services Plan (health reforms) would cause a number of senior staff to reconsider their situation.”

Of course, no-one in the Howardian pork-barrel bus thought to consult with those who know the situation better than any others, did they? Of course not! Hells bells! There’s an election to be won and a marginal seat to be bolstered. Never mind about the long-term good of the greatest number in society, just pander to the gullible, impressionable and vulnerable. It works every time.
I don’t believe Doctor Saunders has attacked his own nose in this case. I believe it’s Howard himself who’s carving into the conks of the general populace of north-western regional Tasmania. For what purpose exactly? As a weapon to attack Kevin Rudd, nothing more. It’s given Tony Abbott an excuse to poke his beak up out of the political ooze to utter statements like “We’ve had far too much fudge and waffle from this bloke” challenging Rudd to state whether he supports Howard’s move or backs the Tasmanian government downgrading of the Mersey hospital. Howard is attempting to belittle his opponent by claiming “Mr Rudd is a former state bureaucrat and I think that has heavily influenced everything he’s said on the subject” which doesn’t clarify anything at all other than casting baseless aspersions on Rudd’s political history.
This is all vacant nonsense and blatant politicking at the expense of the electorate in Braddon, yet Howard and Abbott are making out that it’s anything but. One thing is certain. If this bullshit goes on much longer, Labor is going to have one hell of a lot of social and financial dramas to sort out if they do wind up taking power.

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