Special Commission of Inquiry System †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Special Commission of Inquiry. Answer: Introduction Five of the government hospitals in New South Wales will soon be undertaken by the private enterprises (Edwards 2016). Health ministrys argument on this major issue is severely criticized by Brett Holmes and his organisation NSWNMA. NSWNMA has published an article on this issue by stating the problems they and the Australian public will face on this issue in the future. The organization has warned the government that they might arrange major protests and movements if they dont correct their policies. The situation of Australias public health care has deteriorated over the years and this article also displays the dark future of the country. NSWNMAs (New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association) report is actually an urge to public about the ongoing privatization of Australian healthcare in the current decade. NSWNMA is a reputed organisation of the nurses and the midwives. It has been working for the rights of the nurses and the midwives for more than a decade (Nswnma.asn.au.2017). The Australian governments implementation of the privatization of five major public hospitals will have devastating effects in the lives of the nurses and the midwives. The employees association has taken a step opposing this anti-labour step implemented by the government.The author of this report is associated with the NSWNMA and hence, is well acquainted with the circumstances. According to the Sidney Morning Herald, about 1 billion dollars were approved to upgrade the hospitals of Maitland, Goulburn, Wyong, Bowral and Shellharbour in New South Wales. Long after that in the month of September, 2016, the Government announced the incorpora tion of the private corporations in order to upgrade and to run the hospitals (Robertson 2017). The basic argument of the government was that it will help in quality maintenance. The author in this article challenges this argument. The framed idea in the message The neo-liberal approach of the major Australian public sectors is all about privatization and empowering the major business tycoons. The report frames an idea how five of the major public undertakings of public health care is handed over for private business. This phenomenon will lead to the rise in the cost of health care and decrease in the nurse patient ratio. In addition to that the public policy of the termination of the government employees will push these nurses and midwives into a dark future. Moreover, if the control of private enterprises increases on public money, the entire sector will run with the tenet of profit making and not welfare (Gittus, A., 2016). The article is also a framed report of the welfare system of the country. It helps the readers to understand the magnitude and the direction in which the current government is driving the entire public welfare. It tries to convinces the limitations of private welfare and also describes the problems of the nurses and the midwives due to it (Garling 2014). The article displays, how the private business enterprises are entering the crucial sectors of human welfare like education and health. It also describes the problems of the labour class and the government employees due to this kind of privatization. Construction of the text The idea of the report can be analyzed either as a warning to the NSW government or an urge to the common mass of population in New South Wales to join the movement against this privation. The article also uses examples like Port Macquaire Base Hospital, which was earlier, privatized. Later it got bankrupt and the Government had to bail it out of the situation with public money. The article states that the history of privatization of government health care does not seem to be in favour of the decisions of the government. The article is compact and includes direct quotes from different authorities and authentic examples, which addresses the matter in a proper way. The article also includes the fact, that their fight is not only for their own community but also for general Australian public. The article is not emotional but practical enough to address the issue, it is a visualization of a devastating anti welfare decision of the government through the lenses of a common middle class ma n of Australia (Dahlen et al. 2014). The text is pretty clear and straight in its expression. The author has not used any such ornamentalised language or elevated style in order to enhance the article. The article is a direct address to all the common people to notice the situation of the Australian health care. And how the health minister has refused to look into the matter. The organization believes that it has taken a stance, which is against the government policies and in favour of their community and public masses. They might call for major public gatherings (McIlroy 2014). These kinds of movements have often caused roadblocks and strikes and caused havoc problems for the recruitment of the new nurses and the running of the hospitals (FROM 2014). The issue is vibrant and linked to common lives and hence it is possible that these kinds of article will infuse bigger movements and protests. The anger of the readers of the article is natural to the taxpaying citizens. The responsible citizens who believe that the need of public welfare in NSW is necessary for normal livelihood might come out and support these organizations in their protests. Discourse of the article The article speaks about the rights of the government employees (nurses and midwives), who are comparatively lowly paid employees to doctors. The privatization of the health care will not provide them with the same facilities and labour rights like a public sector undertaking. This kind of neo-liberal approach of the government to privatise the government institutions will not only have an impact on the lives of these employees but also in the lives of the common people of New South Wales who are dependable on public health care. In any major country around the world, the government has the responsibility to fulfill the basic needs of its citizens. The primary needs are food, shelter, clothing, education and health. Any major country around the world (of Europe and North America) has a better public health care policy. The degredation of public health care police will affect the common masses, who should also protest along with the masses according to NSWMA (McIlroy 2014). The main issue in question here is the privatisation of the public hospitals in New South Wales. When a hospital is privatised, there are increased chances of reduction in the level of care that is meted out to the patients (Ward et al. 2017). The people of New South Wales had the right to be informed about this decision beforehand, but the Coalition Government did not feel the need to do so. The nurses and other employees will be affected directly as they will lose their job security. They were neither told nor consulted before this decision was made, and this led to discontent among them. A case in point would be the privatisation of the Port Macquarie Base Hospital, which ended in absolute disaster. It was not just the infrastructure that was weak; the main aim of the hospital had shifted from the well-being of the patients to keeping the shareholders satisfied. It was a shock to the nurses and the midwives, and they undertook protests and conducted meetings, and received support from the general public as well (McIlroy 2014). More than six CEOs had been appointed in a time span of just seven years, and the governing body of the hospital had receded to a mere advisory board in that time. A monthly availability charge had to be paid by the New South Wales health department, which amounted to several million dollars. The waiting lists for surgeries were exploding, and because of the profit-making nature that the hospital had adapted, the surgical procedures had become elective, with the funds running out. The administration had lost its transparency, and the level of patient care had deteriorated. The Coalition Government of New South Wales should consider this failure as a warning and not be hasty in making decisions when it comes to the public health sector. Convincing nature of the media article Created by Brett Holmes and Danielle Mahoney, the media article has elements that strongly oppose the idea of public hospital privatisation. This is a legitimate issue; when a hospital becomes privatised, its shareholders extract a duty from them. Therefore, there emerges a responsibility to incur maximum profits with regard to the investments. This can lead to the hospitals operating in such a way that only their profit is taken into consideration, with the focus on patient health care diminishing as a result (Collyer, Harley and Short 2015). Also, job security of the existing employees are threatened as well, and they have little or no room for getting their opinion heard in this matter. Both Holmes and Mahoney are the core members of the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA). Danielle Mahoney is an experienced communications professional with years of experience in Sydney, London and New York, and the health sector falls under her expertise. She is currently the Communications and Campaigns Officer for the Association, after serving them as their media advisor for over a year. Brett Holmes is the General Secretary of the NSWNMA, He not only oversees the regular operations and the managing of the Association, but also ensures that the rules and policies are delivered and implemented successfully. The point that stands out in this article is the fact that none of the nurses or the midwives was consulted before this decision was made. It was as if the government had turned its back on them and chosen to forget their interests completely. The non-permanent workers have no idea now regarding their future prospects they seem bleak anyway, as they have a guarantee of employment that extends for a period of just two years, and consequently, they would have limited scope for a chance at a better job at new hospitals. Differences in perceiving the message portrayed Different people will interpret the message conveyed in the media report in a different way, and this is only natural, as they all have different perspectives. The Government may have decided on the privatisation due to reasons like the heavy expenses that are involved in the maintaining of a public hospital, but it did not consider the repercussions that are to follow (Edwards 2016). There have been no efforts to agree on maintaining a patient to nurse ratio by and private hospital, and this might lead to a deterioration in patient care. It is almost as if the Government has chosen to ignore the rights and interests of the working sector, and there is no one to account for it as well. The workers who have been moved from the public to the private sectors have also lost their chance at a pension or a redundancy pay only the employees that were permanent would have an opportunity at securing a job position, although it does depend on the availability. Questions to be addressed in the media analysis When Jillian Skinner announced the decision to privatise the five state hospitals Maitland, Goulburn, Shellharbour, Wyong and Bowral the possible reason she had in mind was to cut down on the healthcare expenses that are constantly on the rise in Australia (AREAS 2016). However, the belief that private always means better may not be applicable here. Also, both the Liberal and the Labour parties of Australia have declared that they have nothing to do with the privatisation they are not willing to release the required funds that are necessary to meet the costs of the functioning of the hospitals. However, the question that arises is whether the New South Wales government is treading the path carefully or not privatisation might equal to shiny new buildings and a better infrastructure, but the existing employees are at a risk. They are being forced to accept the new policies and accept the two-year government contracts, or they will run the risk of losing their current jobs as well. Privatisation does not always amount to success and the government gets stuck with a contract that can extend to many years; history is proof that things have gone horribly wrong (Skinner 2013). There have been cases where patients with highly infectious diseases were left in corridors as there were no wards available. The private contractor that had been allocated the hospital had said that the costs were too much for it to cover, and this lead to the collapse of the privatised system. Conclusion The New South Wales Government needs to consider the interests and the problems faced by the workers and include their opinions while taking such drastic measures. The concept of privatised hospitals might seem attractive, but history is proof of the fact that it is a failure. It is understood that medical bills are constantly on the rise in Australia, but risking the job prospects of the nurses and other employees is definitely not the way this matter should be handled. They need an approach that is more employee-oriented something that will benefit both the government and the public at the same time. References AREAS, I.R., 2016. Five more public hospitals to be privatised.LAMP, p.13. Collyer, F., Harley, K. and Short, S., 2015. Money and markets in Australia's healthcare system. Sydney University Press. Corderoy, A. (2017). Our hospitals are being privatised. Is anybody paying attention? | Amy Corderoy. [online] the Guardian. Available at: Dahlen, H.G., Tracy, S., Tracy, M., Bisits, A., Brown, C. and Thornton, C., 2014. Rates of obstetric intervention and associated perinatal mortality and morbidity among low-risk women giving birth in private and public hospitals in NSW (20002008): a linked data population-based cohort study.BMJ open,4(5), p.e004551. Edwards, G., 2016. NSW Libs to privatise more hospitals.Guardian (Sydney), (1749), p.3. Edwards, G., 2016. NSW Libs to privatise more hospitals.Guardian (Sydney), (1749), p.3. FROM, N., 2014. Nurses join gas blockade.LAMP, p.29. Garling, P., 2014. Final report of the Special Commission of Inquiry: acute care services in NSW public hospitals, 2008. Gittus, A., 2016. 'Don't trust this CSG industry!'.Lamp, The,73(3), p.26. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/20/our-hospitals-are-being-privatised-is-anybody-paying-attention [Accessed 15 May 2017]. McIlroy, J., 2014. NSW nurses union campaigns for public hospital.Green Left Weekly, (1026), p.7. McIlroy, J., 2014. NSW nurses union campaigns for public hospital.Green Left Weekly, (1026), p.7. McIlroy, J., 2016. Unions rally to stop hospital privatisation.Green Left Weekly, (1112), p.4. Nswnma.asn.au. (2017).NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association. [online] Available at: https://www.nswnma.asn.au/ [Accessed 15 May 2017]. Robertson, J. (2017).Five NSW hospitals to be privatised under 'surprise' plan. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/five-nsw-hospitals-to-be-privatised-under-surprise-plan-20160915-grh6mq.html [Accessed 15 May 2017]. Skinner, J., 2013. Privatised public health restarts on the Northern beaches.Lamp, The,70(5), p.24. Ward, P.R., Rokkas, P., Cenko, C., Pulvirenti, M., Dean, N., Carney, A.S. and Meyer, S., 2017. Waiting forand waiting inpublic and private hospitals: a qualitative study of patient trust in South Australia.BMC Health Services Research,17(1), p.333.