Kirk on stealth in health

Stacey Kirk writes in Stuff:

This week, Stuff revealed the planned introduction of a very specific mental health programme was quietly canned earlier in the year. It would have seen a mental health worker attend all crisis calls along with police and ambulance staff. 

That decision comes hot on the heels of news Health Minister David Clark ordered National Health Targets to cease being publicly reported, and it was also recently revealed by Stuff the Government had dropped $6.5m in funding for cochlear implant surgeries. 

That is not to say any of these were bad decisions – each might have been completely warranted, but there’s currently no way to know. Not a press release or pro-active release of advice in relation to any of these decisions has been issued. Clark did incorrectly claim there was no money for the mental health project, pointed to a mostly debunked news story regarding health targets, and refused to comment on the cochlear implant funding. 

So Clark’s responses has been an incorrect claim, a reliance on a fake news story and a no comment. Fills you with confidence eh.