Daniel Andrews’ Cardiac Plan – all about his ego and not Heart health

Quotes attributable to Shadow Minister for Health, Mary Wooldridge

• Daniel Andrews has released a cardiac services plan to try to justify his flawed idea for a stand-alone Heart Hospital.
• His plan provides no justification for the stand-alone hospital other than it has been done elsewhere, but stand-alone hospitals overseas are moving next to full service Hospitals – such as Papworth Hospital in the UK.
• In order to justify is Heart Hospital Daniel Andrews is ripping specialist cardiac services from the world class Alfred Hospital to prop up volumes at his Heart Hospital.
• Further, with no Emergency Department or other clinical services at the Heart Hospital and limited cardiac services at the Monash Medical Centre dedicated ambulances will likely be needed to ferry patients the 10 minute drive between the two hospitals.
• The grandiose ‘Victorian Heart Hospital’ title tries to hide that the patients who will get care are from Victoria’s South and East. If you live in the North or West you access existing services and new infrastructure investment is ruled out
• However Daniel Andrews is pitting the Austin, Royal Melbourne, St Vincent’s and University Hospital Geelong against each other as only one or two will be able to become the North West’s ‘designated specialist cardiac centre”.
• In Public Accounts Jill Hennessy confirmed the Heart Hospital will actively seek out Private Patients. She also confirmed she has no idea when the Hospital will be built and that the business plan won’t be complete till at earliest the end of this year.

Quotes attributable to Shadow Minister for Health, Mary Wooldridge:
“Daniel Andrews’ pigheadedness means Victoria will bypass the unique opportunity to get our brand new Heart Hospital right.”
“At a time when patients are experiencing more diseases and conditions in conjunction with their heart disease we should be co-locating services not separating them.”
“Daniel Andrews would rather rip apart our world class cardiac care and spend millions of dollars duplicating services than admit he is wrong.”
“In the ultimate display of hypocrisy, Daniel Andrews welcomes private healthcare for people with heart disease when he has denied thousands of cancer sufferers access to private treatment at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.”

Media contact: James Duncan    0457 758 018          james.duncan@opposition.vic.gov.au