Dave Tollner (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is very similar to Queensland hospitals. By January 2006, the health system under Minister Peter Toyne and the health department CEO, Mr Robert Griew, was at a crisis point with the emergency department unable to cope with the numbers and with shortages of staff. Those who are there frequently work double shifts and up to three weeks straight without any time off. Since Clare Martin came to power, the numbers on waiting lists for elective surgery have gone from around 1,000 to around 3,000, and there has been a recruitment of St John’s Ambulance paramedics to fill nursing roles and they are rostered in the emergency department on their days off. In February 2006, a patient with a blockage in his throat was made to wait for nearly a day on a trolley in a corridor to have that blockage removed. In fact, the man was told to drink Coca-Cola to fix his problem.

Only last week the federal government stepped in and bailed the Northern Territory government out of trouble by throwing them a lifeline by finalising arrangements—

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