Rudd accused of ditching hospital pledge
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The Federal Opposition is accusing Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of backtracking from an election commitment to take over public hospitals if they do not perform.
Coalition health spokesman Peter Dutton said an election promise to hold a referendum on hospital takeovers has been deleted from Mr Rudd's website.
He says the Prime Minister has failed in his promise to set new benchmarks for hospital performance in return for new funding.
Mr Dutton said Mr Rudd is ignoring failures at hospitals such as Royal Darwin, where there have been two preventable deaths and a baby raped in the last two years.
"Over the last 12 months health hasn't been improved in this country at all," he said.
He said anybody who has been to Royal Darwin or other public hospitals around the country knows that waiting lists are not getting any shorter.
"People aren't getting better service and that's despite the fact that there are incredible doctors and nurses and allied health professionals who want to deliver good health outcomes," he said.
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