Please leave in “”when asked to comment on the closure” … because it makes it clear Bates was not the leaker condemned by the spokesman). One of two post-natal wards at Woden Valley Hospital has been closed, with hospital management saying not enough patients were booked to justify it staying open and the AMA saying obstetricians were not consulted. ACT AMA president and obstetrician Dr Grahame Bates, when asked to comment on the closure, said it would make things tighter. “”It will put pressure on the nursing staff,” he said. “”It forces people out of hospital so they have quick through-put which makes the figures look good.” He had gone down to the ward last week and found it closed.
“”I thought they were cleaning,” he said. “”We are the last people to know.” A spokesman for Health Minister Terry Connolly said all 20 closed beds were fully staffed and funded. “”If 20 women turned up tonight requiring the beds, they would be open,” he said. “”But it was not good management or good for taxpayers’ money to have beds open when they are not needed.” The staff had been temporarily redeployed. The spokesman said people should know better than to run off to the media with scurrilous rumours, especially during an election campaign. The doctors and administrators who had to deal with the media inquiries had more important things to do _ looking after patients. The spokesman suggested that the leak to the media was politically motivated.