Religious beliefs to determine health and medical services provided at WA public hospital

There are plenty of reasons to oppose the Barnett Government's privatization of public hospitals and public health services at Fiona Stanley Hospital and the Midland Hospital.

Here is another one (article here).   

The Acting Health Minister has confirmed that religious beliefs are likely to affect what services are provided at the Midland Health Campus which is due to open in 2015.

At this stage of negotiations, procedures such as vasectomies and abortions would not be carried out at the new hospital because the likely service provider, Catholic, not for profit group- St John of God Health Care does not allow their staff to perform them.

Acting Health minister Troy Buswell confirmed that he did not expect such procedures to be done at the Midland Health Campus.

Opposition health spokesperson Roger Cook said the service provider would not carry out procedures that they considered to be interfering with the process of life and this was a concern to the community.

Mr Cook said the public would be given a truncated service dictated by the private operator.

He said this outcome was a result of privatisation.

"The moment you privatise, you lose accountability and the ability to govern what goes on in the public hospital system," Mr Cook said.

St John of God Health Care is the Government's preferred tender for the health campus and contract negotiations are ongoing.

The religious views of the provider of a public hospital should never determine what services are provided. We must oppose the imposition of outdated catholic theology on the provision of a public service.