Group Attacks Government Waste To Promote Railway Hospital

A government radio advertising campaign promoting the new railway hospital was described today as a “shameless waste of South Australian’s hard-earned money”.

Save the RAH Group chairman Jim Katsaros says many South Australians would join him in expressing their disappointment at this kind of waste for what amounted to a political campaign advertisement.

“The state government continually cries poor when it comes to health funding and blames the global financial crisis for all our present ills but it can find spare cash to promote an expensive railway hospital which the majority of South Australians don’t want.

“I can’t explain how disappointed and angry I am about this unbelievably cynical exercise!”

Dr Katsaros also attacked the government for turning a hospital staff member into a mouthpiece for its advertising campaign to build the railway hospital.

“The staff member has been used by this government and making claims which are just not true.

“It would not take twice as long to rebuild the RAH and it would be no more disruptive than moving patients two kilometres down North Terrace to a new hospital.

“Throughout the world hospitals are continually being rebuilt without major disruption.”

Dr Katsaros says the money being wasted on the advertising campaign should be put into the health budget as should the millions of dollars which could be saved by rebuilding the RAH rather than a new hospital.

“The money that can be saved by staying at the RAH can be used to upgrade other major hospitals such as the QEH, Flinders and the Lyell McEwan.”