United Voice

The independent MP gave his backing after meeting with LHMU delegates who work at the local hospital in Kalgoorlie and LHMU secretary Dave Kelly on Monday afternoon.
The delegates spoke at length to Mr Bowler about how the state government has a distinct privatisation agenda for new hospitals in the state and how concerned they are about the effect it will have on their jobs and healthcare.

Redevelopment project
The workers are also concerned about who will be running the new palliative care addition at Kalgoorlie Hospital. Construction is already underway on the $55.8m redevelopment project and the enrolled nurses, cleaners, orderlies and catering staff who met with Mr Bowler want to ensure the new addition remains in public hands.
“The Barnett government has developed a habit of calling for private firms to express an interest in running essential  services at each new hospital or redevelopment in the pipeline so the workers at Kalgoorlie hospital are right to be concerned,” said Dave Kelly, LHMU secretary.
“Privatisation is planned for Fiona Stanley, Midland Health Campus and the new children’s hospital. Plans for privatisation at the new Albany hospital have been significantly scaled back by the government because of public disquiet about the plans in the town.
“But the opposition is not just confined to Albany. Our members have been speaking to communities all over the state and gathering thousands of signatures against the privatisation plans.

“As the delegates illustrated to Mr Bowler yesterday, privatisation has not worked before. In Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in the 1990s when the orderly service was privatised, staffing numbers were halved by the contractor in order to save money. This led to patients being left in corridors for hours because there was no-one left to take them back to the wards.
“The workers also told Mr Bowler that by privatising parts of hospital services, like cleaning, the Barnett government would be undermining levels of care. This is because the people who work in hospitals work as a team and if they are accountable to different employers, accountability and responsibility would be lost.
“Getting Mr Bowler to back the bill is a major step towards getting it passed and stopping the Barnett government from a privatisation plan that will be disastrous.
“We hope National party MPs and other independent MPs like Janet Woollard and Adele Carles whose constituencies will be served by the new Fiona Stanley hospital, will also see that these plans are not wanted or needed by the community and will follow Mr Bowler’s stand.”