Nick Smith said the provision of 16 hours was an interim provision and a long term plan would be made after the final report from the independent clinical panel was released in mid-September.
The panel was set up by Dr Smith following concern about the cuts being made. (Not quite right. The Panel was set up because a lot of very fine people got pissed off and put pressure on him and DESPITE qualified professionals telling him, he's doing it wrong)
"It was my decision to set up the independent clinical panel when it was plain that a substantive number of clinicians working in this area believed ACC had it wrong," he said. (Don't YOU dare cash in on this! It was NOT his decision. Pressure from Labour MADE him reconsider his initial denial of a claims review)
Dr Smith said while he had been careful not to interfere with what was a clinical matter (being careful NOT to interfere and turning a blind eye are pretty much the same thing Smith!) he did not think ACC had managed the issue well. (NO fucking kidding Sherlock!)
Labour's ACC spokesman David Parker said Dr Smith's attempts to blame the ACC board should not be accepted.
"The minister was repeatedly and clearly warned by clinicians and the Labour Party that his changes were so obviously wrong. (YEP, He sure was!)
"Why have a minister if he will not take responsibility in the face of prior warnings."
“The Minister’s attempt to blame this all on the ACC Board should not be accepted. Why have a Minister if he will not take responsibility in the face of prior warnings?
ReplyDelete“In some months the number of people being approved for counselling following sexual crimes has been 90 percent lower than previously. The Minister tried to defend this.
“The latest justification asserts that a change to the law is needed, this excuse is another example of slippery behaviour. No-one has shown that providing counselling to victims of sexual crimes is illegal.
“If it was, then ACC had been acting illegally for years, and the latest reinstatement of counselling would itself be illegal if that argument were accurate.
“Similarly, the Minister’s attempt to blame the prior government doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. It was the current government that introduced the requirement to prove mental illness rather than mental injury.
“This cannot be blamed on either the prior government or the Massey University guidelines. In fact the current government’s misuse of those guidelines lead to Massey publicly disassociating from ACC’s changes to their guidelines.
“The public record on this is clear for all to see the Minister and his hand picked Board are responsible, and should accept accountability.
Victims Rights spokesperson Lynne Pillay said the changes that had been introduced by National had been a disaster.
Too true! Though I still think that SCU is rouge and tell Minister Smith what they think he needs to hear. Not that that excuses Smith from ignoring EVERYONE telling him WTF was going on right back even before the pathway and review was introduced. But he is a GUTLESS wonder and will blame everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI take back that comment. Nick Smith is neck deep in this mess. In todays comments from him he says,
ReplyDelete"ACC Minister Nick Smith says the problem was the delay in making the diagnosis, not that claims were wrongly declined."
UNBELIEVEABLE!!! So they still think the only thing wrong with the pathway is the delay in getting assessed.
So Nick Smith continues to ignore suvivors, therapists and health professionals and chooses to listen to a handful of people from SCU. The same people who never source ANY endorsement from any Organisations or Colleges prior to the introduction of this pathway and continue to ignore these bodies concerns. Wake up Nick Smith! Your comments don't wash with me anymore. What kind of Minister are you if you bury your head in the sand and ignore the experts and your voters.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10665689