Page 5929 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 8 December 2010
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… the Minister made threats to review 10 years of Medical Board outcomes in an attempt to intimidate doctors who had made complaints …
It is quite clearly a matter of record that that threat was made by both the Chief Minister and Katy Gallagher—to go through and dredge up 10 years of Medical Board reviews. I quoted from where Mr Stanhope had said that in the media. The fact that this was a clear attempt to intimidate the doctors is agreed to by the AMA and by the national college of obstetricians and gynaecologists, which described the actions of the Chief Minister and Katy Gallagher as thinly veiled threats, witch-hunts and bullying.
The next point Ms Bresnan has removed is something that I do accept is in some regards a point that could be disputed but is something that I hold very closely, having observed what has occurred over the last number of months:
… the Minister deliberately chose to establish the inquiry into bullying and harassment claims in such a way that they could be covered up …
It is quite clear and beyond refute that that has been the consequence. I assert that that was her rationale. Others may dispute that rationale, but what is quite clear is that my prediction that that would be the result has proved true. And when you go to motive, the motive is quite clear: the minister did not want this to come to the light of day.
The next element that has been removed by the Greens is:
… the Minister for Health is avoiding any responsibility for the findings of the report by shifting the burden of decision making to public servants …
That has occurred. She is now being viewed by many in the community as the minister not responsible for health, with this bizarre dissociation that she has from any of the results of the findings of the review that has been conducted.
The last element that has been removed by the Greens is:
… the Minister for Health has failed to provide outcomes for the staff members involved and further eroded confidence in TCH …
That is quite clear. I have spoken to a number of the doctors who made the complaints, and they have not been spoken to. They were quite unaware that this was being pushed out on Friday afternoon, last Friday. After the media had done their normal rounds, this was sort of pushed out late and in the middle of the floods: “Let us get this one out.” I think “taking out the trash” is the quote from West Wing. Quite clearly, this was taking out the trash.
The number of times I find myself on a Friday, late in the day, dealing with health issues as the minister takes out the trash is quite remarkable. Unfortunately, this stinking piece of trash has got such a smell about it that not only did it run very strongly in the media because they smelled the rat but also it was played out on the Monday and continued throughout the week.
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