Is ‘Quality Health Care’ a priority for this Labour Party Administration?

This Labour Party administration’s policies seem to benefit sitting politicians more than the suffering patient. Foremost among these policies is the failure to appoint health care professionals who are experienced, knowledgeable, trustworthy and competent to senior management positions in the Ministry of Health. The result of course is a bias towards the political imperative as opposed to improving clinical care and patient outcomes.

This dictatorial and shortsighted approach to health care management was aptly exemplified in the way the decision to build a new national hospital was railroaded down the throats of these same managers. These managers had spent countless hours producing a ten year strategic plan that never even mentioned the building of the new national hospital far less its current premature form and non- resilient location.

A properly constituted Health Care Financing mechanism is the key to safe, timely, effective, efficient and equitable care. National Health Insurance promised 19 years ago hasn’t seen the light of day. In the meantime financially strapped patients struggle to meet their health care needs. (Quality health care is not FREE!).