Howdy and welcome to the blog...to try and get through some things a bit more quickly I'm just going to dot point some stuff...(I'll believe it when I see it, 'Ramblin Man'-Ed)...fair enough...
But If I May First: one of my PITS-inducing pet hates is that the Rann/Weatherill Labor government ploughs pots of cash into it's self-serving pet projects on North Tce but has not put one extra cent into PATS for over a decade...it gives me PATS PITS.
PATS PITS: is where the condition/response known as Politically Inspired Tehret's Syndrome is exacerbated/triggered by exposure to the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme and/or the current PATS Review...(just for the record, we made up PITS...it's not a recognised medical condition-Ed)...what's this 'we' business?...
Please read previous posts about the current PATS Review that plans to make the pitiful $8million a year funding go 'further' by denying people from even being eligible, raising the 'Co-contribution Payment', etc...with reimbursement rates still calculated on costs from a decade ago, and multiple exclusions for technical reasons and/or paperwork mistakes, and charging patients to even apply for often partial reimbursement, etc, the entire PATS set-up is a grossly offensive bias against Regional patients.
Better Than Nothing: is a phrase penned to define the PATS...there is no refunding the time and costs that Regional patients have foisted on them by an uncaring, Adelaide-centric state parliament...Labor or Liberal...in simply trying to access Health Services...which leads us back to the Penola Rd/Wireless Rd intersection and Troy Bell...(sorry, what?...where are you going now?-Ed)...
The Ad I Want To See: is the one where Mr Bell (state Liberal candidate for Mt Gambier for the March 2014 election) is standing in front of the Mt Gambier Hospital promising to double funding for PATS so that Regional patients are at least not left out of pocket...(ah, I get it...he's been on TV making the explicit promise of $2million for Penola/Wireless Rds, but despite all his efforts with the PATS stuff, in the latest piece in TBW Thursday 12 December 2013, it is reported that 'Mr Bell said he would push to see an increase in funding for the scheme...'-Ed)...exactly...
(So the Liberals are trumpeting $2m for the intersection-Ed)...which is great, something has to be done with that corner...(sure...but they haven't committed anything to the very important PATS funding-Ed)...not that I'm aware of...(so you'd like to see Mr Bell doing 2 ads...the one about the intersection, and another one announcing a big fat pork-barrelling raise for PATS-Ed)...well the intersection thing is effectively pork-barrelling, 'give me your vote and you'll profit', so why not PATS?...(fair point-Ed).
Hopefully, the Liberals are just holding back the big announcement about the big PATS increase they've already factored into their election promises/costings...(well I'm sure that's it-Ed)...one can only hope, and the PATS Review shows exactly how little Labor cares about Regional patients, so Liberals don't have to rush with any announcement...but even then, any increase is an admission that those services won't be going to the patients anytime soon, patients will continue to travel to Adelaide, Melbourne, Warnambool, etc.
The good news is that Mr Bell has done the groundwork with the 2,000+ signature petition which will be put before the Upper House by MLC Michelle Lensink...(albeit not until probably April 2014 due to the Christmas break and March 2014 election-Ed)...good point, but still better than nothing...just...I was also stunned to see that Breast Cancer surgeries have been cancelled at Mt Gambier Hospital, but I'll cover that tomorrow.
Which Also Reminds Me: that the most recent report in TBW re the $27 Mt Gambier Hospital 'Re-Development' said something about a '6 bed Mental Health facility', but I had not noticed this in previous reports...perhaps I missed it, because I've been banging on about a '12 bed stand alone Mental Health facility' as being a repeatedly broken Labor promise from successive elections (2006 and 2010)...I apologise if I got it wrong but I'll check and post...
Religion: is not my favourite person and continues to generate as much if not more conflict as it has ever resolved. I was shocked but not surprised that across Christmas Christians were targeted as they left church services in bombing attacks in Egypt and Iraq...or to hear (BBC?) that 'Christians' are amongst if not the most persecuted religious group, but I'm not sure if that particular discussion included the violence occurring within Islam itself.
It opens up that whole ugly can of worms about Human Nature and it's inherent violence...do we battle each other because of the depth of our faith, or is faith just a justification for exercising our deeper desire for violence and conflict...I repeat, are we as a species just over-evolved apes driven irretrievably insane by self-awareness?...(I've been a little of my faith lately-Ed)...hey, that's my joke...(I know, but never a truer word spoken in jest-Ed)...
In Closing: ABC News 24 is reporting that Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Australia Jacqueline Zwambila, who is apparently aligned with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Party, has just defected to Australia...(well, she's seeking a protection visa because of personal safety concerns should she return to Zimbabwe, which isn't exactly 'defecting'...more like 'seeking asylum' really-Ed)...fair enough...and there's nothing even vaguely humorous about what's happening in Zimbabwe, another state where the saviour has become the despot.
Enough for today, onto...
Tomorrow: More Mt Gambier Health Issues
And some more updates re the Electoral Commission, SAPol, etc...but there's not much to report.
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...I am using my words I am...cheers and laters.
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