| Publication: | The Australian |
|---|---|
| Date: | 4 March 2010 |
| Section: | Health and Science |
Article excerpt:
KEVIN Rudd has pledged to tackle hospital waiting times with his $50 billion takeover of the nation's health and hospital system. The Prime Minister kicked off a media campaign this morning to sell his health reforms, telling the Nine Network it was important to put a maximum limit on waiting times for emergency and elective surgery.
"What we need through new tough national standards is for patients to have confidence that there will be maximum waiting times, that there will be absolute maximum waiting times for elective surgery and for treatments of accident emergency,'' Mr Rudd said.
"We don't have those standards nationwide at present.''
Julia Gillard was also rolled out for an appearance on ABC radio, arguing that pouring money into the health system wouldn't achieve effective results if the system had structural flaws.
"It's not just about tipping more money in on the basis of creaky foundations,'' she said. "It's about making sure that the structure of the system is right.
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