Shadow Minister for Health, Bill Yan, says that reports of the imminent sacking of all Royal Darwin Hospital and Alice Springs Hospital department heads is deeply concerning and will place further stress on an already stretched health system.
“The Fyles Government needs to confirm if the reports are true and if so explain why these decisions being made.
“We are most concerned with the impact of this decision on the stability, capability and operational capacity of our hospitals. A widespread sacking of staff that will throw hospital leadership into disarray is worrying at a time when we are in the midst of a terrible flu season, with COVID cases on the rise and when health staff are under pressure with staff shortages and added responsibilities.
“This move does not instil confidence for our Health workers or for our Health system, the timing could not be worse.
“The head of the AMA NT, Dr Robert Parker, informed the media this morning that the sackings are being planned to take effect on Thursday and that these department heads would need to reapply for their positions.
“Under the NT’s worst health Minister, we’ve already seen five Code Yellow internal emergencies at Royal Darwin Hospital in just 12 months, the widespread cancellation of essential elective surgeries, the closure of remote health clinics in the middle of a pandemic, the bungling of the remote vaccine rollout and mass resignations of health staff.
“This decision raises some extremely important questions. Is the Government trying to pass the blame onto department heads for its constant failures, or is it trying to silence critics within the Health Department? Why would a move like this even be considered during a period of high stress within the Health System? The Fyles Government needs to be supporting our Health Workers at this critical time, not playing political games in our Hospitals. “I have written to the Health Minister to seek confirmation and an urgent briefing on this matter. The Minister needs to answer the questions of why do this, and why now?” said Mr Yan.
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