The Australian Medical Association (AMA) said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's hospital reform plan is at risk of being derailed, unless the Commonwealth "takes real responsibility for public hospitals". Under the COAG deal struck with Labor premiers and chief ministers in April, the Federal Government will become the dominant 60-40 funder of public hospitals, but the states and territories will continue to call the shots, according to an AAP report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
"We fear that the states will remain in the driver's seat on the rollout of these reforms and in many ways it could be business as usual in our hospitals," AMA president Dr Andrew Pesce told a Senate committee examining Kevin Rudd's plan, the report said.
Catholic Health Australia chief executive Martin Laverty firmly supported the AMA's move to hold the Rudd government to account.
Mr Laverty renewed his call for an overarching advisory board to be established to make sure the hospital reform plan is rolled out according to Mr Rudd's vision.
He supports the "high-level principles" regarding local governance enunciated by the prime minister.
"But the implementation we can't speak to," Mr Laverty told the Senate committee.
"All we can recommend is that it (the commonwealth) establish a process whereby those outside of government service delivery are involved in the design of the system."
AMA president Andrew Pesce is cited by The Australian saying: "It's time for the government to provide more detail about how all its reforms will work in practice."
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