NO-ONE could blame Zuvele Leschen for raising the issue of lengthening public hospital surgical waiting lists, after she was told her year-long wait for hip replacement surgery is likely to be extended another year.
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But Ms Leschen’s political history as a former Labor candidate in the North East, means it’s perhaps not surprising the situation has declined into a political blame game with broadsides fired by members of the two major parties.
The response from Benalla Nationals MP Bill Sykes to Ms Leschen’s plight was to advise her to be reassessed by her doctor in a bid to be listed as a higher-priority patient, but Dr Sykes also took the opportunity to blame the federal government’s $460 million cuts in health funding to the states.
The response from federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek was equally predictable in that she attacked the Victorian government for the blow-out in the state’s elective surgery waiting list in spite of federal government funding of $264 million to improve the list.
Once again, a patient has been caught in the middle, showing the vulnerability of those seeking to alleviate their suffering; a vulnerability that shouldn’t be caught up in political arguments.
