Quarter-million a year

Plan to hire top-level health bureaucrat draws fire from Labor

THE Government has advertised a new quarter of a million dollar role for a bureaucrat to manage the rollout of health infrastructure projects.

It comes as Labor says the public elective surgery waiting list statewide has blown out to almost 10,000.

In Question Time yesterday, Opposition Leader Rebecca White questioned Health Minister Sarah Courtney about how the Government could justify the position, which has been advertised as a fixed-term role for five years. The job, with the title deputy secretary — capital program, will pay between $225,890 and $259,771 a year.

Ms White said this meant the job would cost about $1.5 million across the five years and be the equivalent of almost 200 elective surgery procedures.

The job advertisement said the role was “accountable for strategic oversight, leadership and management of significant and complex capital development across the health system. It is responsible for the design, delivery and commissioning of over $1 billion in health capital assets over the next five years.”

Ms White asked Ms Courtney how the Government could justify such a highly paid role when 10,000 people are on the waiting list for surgery.

Ms Courtney said the role was crucial for the Government’s investing in capital programs across the health system, such as the Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment.

She said investment in health represented 32 per cent of the budget.

Ms White used the example of burns victim Spencer Connelly, who had waited 14 months for skin graft surgery.

“It wasn’t until the story made national headlines that you actually picked up the phone,’’ Ms White said.

“Why did it take so long for you to act? When will Spencer receive his surgery?”

Ms Courtney said the family’s circumstances were distressing, but said the department had been engaging with Spencer and his family.

“When we look at how we prioritise cases, we leave it to the experts,’’ she said.

Ms White also took the Government to task over the blowout of timelines for major health-related infrastructure projects, including the Royal Hobart Hospital redevelopment.

The Opposition Leader asked Ms Courtney how many additional beds will be available at the RHH when the redeveloped hospital opens its doors.

Ms Courtney said there were currently 383 beds at the hospital, and that there would be 44 more when the new Kblock opened in February.