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PP on Halal certification Thank you for the Halal Choices and the info about Coles - I will not be purchasing meat from Coles henceforth. In the UK it ... more
PP on Halal certification Thank you for the Halal Choices and the info about Coles - I will not be purchasing meat from Coles henceforth. In the UK it ... more
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Why I don’t trust Stephen Robertson to run our hospitals

Posted by: Michael Smith | 3 December, 2008 - 1:00 PM

Running a health system is like running any other businesses.

You know the state's population. You know how it will grow. You have reams of information about age, demographics, obesity levels, smoking, average grog intake. Insurance companies have great actuarial tables that work out average life expectancy, illness levels and other projections about the realities of life – so should you.

You know where the hospitals are, when you should extend them, how many nurses you'll need.

You know where you need to put ambulances to get to sick people within the time limit you promise.

You know how much extra you'll need to increase salaries to keep up with inflation.

Get a calculator to add it all up. The calculator will display a number. If you're any good you'll add a bit for contingencies.

Once you've got the dollar figure you go to treasury and the federal government. You can then get on the airwaves and say to the people one of two things.

"I promise you that my government will deliver on health."

Or.

"I don't have enough money; we'll scale back what we can deliver. Here's what you can expect."

Stephen Robertson doesn't say that. Maybe it's just me but I think he talks gibberish - Listen here

Kevin Rudd promised that he would end the blame game. He's just announced a 50% increase in funding to the states on health - Link

Stephen Robertson can't tell us if that's enough. He won't take responsibility. He's wishy-washy. I want to have faith in someone who says "it's my responsibility, I have the resources, and I will deliver." This bloke is just not made of the right stuff.

Blog comments

I don't think we should blame Stephen Robertson for all of it. After all, he blindly believes what he is told by the bureaucrats in Health and he does what he is told by the premier.
Beattie used to control him with an iron fist.
Ask Beattie why there is going to be one children's hospital and ask him where the real data supporting multiple paediatric untis throughout the exisitng hospitals, went.
This government is a disgrace because they don't care about anything or anyone except what they can do for themselves until that next election date.

Fedup Tuesday 9 December, 2008 - 11:13 AM
The Qhealth portfolio is a poisoned chalice. The size and intelligence of the bureaucracy is unbelievable. Too many ex-clinicians in town doing papers which have nothing to do with the care of patients and running of hospitals or health centres. The hospitals act separately to the corporate component and all are governed by executives who have had their contracts hung over their heads like guillotines, telling them if they don't make budget, they're gone.
The supervising clinicians who are also expected to manage staff and clinical caseloads have to drop everything when a "crisis" occurs, preparing papers or data that are to save someone's ****, that has nothing to do with the care of patients.
I was never a Joh fan but at least in those days when the buildings might not have been great, there were staff who knew their patients, care was provided and only about 3-4 levels of management between the very junior EN to the Nursing Director at the top. There was only one boss,the Med Super,and everyone knew he or she was the boss. Everyone, including the public knew where the buck stopped. Nowadays there can be more than 9 levels of management within the hospital with so many executive directors, deputy directors etc even they don't know what they are supposed to be in charge of and responsible for. The hospitals might be new and flash but they are smaller and not always the easiest for staff to work in. The number of beds have reduced, which the organisation considers a success in efficiency.
The point of accountability used to be the public - it is now the hierachy and that mob on George St.
QHealth is now a huge heaving mess.

Knowitalltoowell! Tuesday 9 December, 2008 - 11:09 AM
s robertson is a complete and utter inept minister who is completely out of his depth in this portfolio as for tim and rick i wonder what labor card numbers you have must be in single figures to make those comments??

trooper5 Monday 8 December, 2008 - 9:58 AM
do tom and rick live in a cave? they need to get out more. the state government would have to be the most incompetent in living memory.they have had record amounts of money to spend on improving infrastructure where has it gone? ron johnson karalee

ron johnson Sunday 7 December, 2008 - 6:48 AM
I'm sure some of these people must be living under a rock! Stephen Robertson doing a good job? Kiddin' aren't ya? This whole mess has been going on for years and years with nothing happening. Check out how things were working when Wendy Edmonds was the minister. Great stuff indeed. Keep up the good work Smithy! All the best to Phoenix, his parents and family. I sincerely hope that by now the little fella has had his hip repaired. A 14 month old little tacker who has been on 4 hourly pain killers for 14 months with a dislocated hip. Horrendous. Have a look at how the footie players are in agony with a dislocated finger until the trainer whacks it back into place and then imagine the pain this little bloke was in.

Dee Saturday 6 December, 2008 - 4:48 PM
Stephen Robinson is doing OK. Old Smithy had a segment today where a child kept getting his medical treatment postponed, and of course according to Smithy it's aaaallllll Robinsons fault, he never wants to interview the hospital or doctors as to why they book him in for an operation and then cancel it.

In the end a team of Doctors are going to come in, wait for it, on a saturday to do the operation, please, they are going to come in on a saturday to fix the problem, if that's what it takes to get a doctor to work on a saturday then it is easy to see why we have a health crisis, and that is what Stephen Robinson has to work with.

Rick Thursday 4 December, 2008 - 8:50 PM