OZschwitz statist fraudsters: Health bureaucrats paid to do nothing

AT LEAST 17 health bureaucrats in western NSW are being paid up to $130,000 a year to do nothing because they were sidelined when the structure of the area health service changed four years ago.

The news of their annual wages bill, which could top $2 million, comes weeks after it was revealed the Greater Western Area Health Service was mired in debt, owing more than $60 million to creditors across the state.

Scores of business owners, angry they had not been paid in months, stopped supplying meat, vegetables, drugs and medical equipment, including bandages and morphine, while specialist doctors at Dubbo and Bathurst hospitals threatened to quit over unpaid bills and a lack of basic equipment.

Health Minister John Della Bosca was forced to dip into next year's budget to slash the debt but the health service still owes $10 million. It was told by the Premier, Nathan Rees, last week to ensure that debt is cleared by the end of the month.

A public rally of more than 300 people in Dubbo on Friday was told the 17 displaced staff, based at Parkes District Hospital, Dubbo Base Hospital and the health service's headquarters, were administrators and nursing managers. Some had not held positions since 2005.

"These people should be made to take a retrenchment package," the MP for Dubbo, Dawn Fardell, said. "That's a lot of bandages and morphine as far as I can see. Let's retrain the nurses and get them back in the wards so we can stop spending money on very expensive agency nurses."

The MP for Orange, Russell Turner, agreed, saying the Greater Western Area Health Service was "too big, too unwieldy, ruled by bureaucrats in Sydney and not answerable to anyone".

"These people can't be sacked and they are still being paid three years after their positions have been removed. Even if it is only one person, it is too much when so many people are owed money," he said.

Despite recent assurances by the health service's chief executive, Claire Blizard, that all small creditors had been paid, several people contacted a website last week complaining they were still owed money. One person, calling themselves a "frightened GWAHS employee", said they have been owed $1500 since October, while another is owed $1000 for work performed over Christmas.

Mother Jo Kennedy said yesterday she was upset at being forced to give birth in the emergency department at Coonamble Hospital three weeks ago because thousands of dollars worth of maternity equipment, bought by residents, had been stripped and moved to Dubbo when Greater Western took over the health service four years ago.

"Coonamble Hospital used to have a fully equipped labour ward with a spa, birthing beds and humidicribs all paid for by community fund-raisers." Ms Kennedy said. "It's all gone now. None of the things we bought are still there."

The nurses were complaining they didn't even have the right-sized gloves or syringes. It's pure luck that nothing bad happened."

The Greater Western Area Health Service did not return calls.

LNK

OZschwitz statist fraudsters: Health bureaucrats paid to do nothing

OZschwitz statist fraudsters: Health bureaucrats paid to do nothing

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