Ryall shows little regard for the ‘real’ story

Tony Ryall’s confirmation that a sick, disabled grandfather living in pain was not on a waiting list for surgery is proof, if any were needed, of the Minister’s callous focus on targets, Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King says.

“Mr Ryall knows the man in question had been on a waiting list but was kicked off earlier this year because the operation could not be done in the five month time-frame – a ministerial requirement – with the resources available.

“He dismissed the argument this man was ‘dumped’ from the waiting list with the rejoinder ‘that person was not on a waiting list so the claim is not valid’.

“This is a 79-year-old who lives with graunching bone-on-bone pain, takes at least 8 pain killers a day, cannot sit down without wincing, uses crutches to get around and can only crawl up his stairs on his hands and knees.

“Mr Ryall somehow thinks he can justify it by quoting the number of operations done in the last five years. This man isn’t getting an operation that he desperately needs. It will be little comfort to him to hear that.

“The Minister knows he is on a hiding to nothing over this issue. Unmet need is the albatross around his neck.

“His repeated attempts to hide the facts have been exposed for what they are – ‘truly crappy records of unmet need’ – by respected surgeons.

“Mr Ryall wants to see rates of elective surgery increase by 4000 a year at the same time he intends introducing a four-month target to ‘improve access to surgery’.

“If thousands of people are already being denied surgery, then it is only going to get worse.”

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