ATTENTION: HEALTH REPORTER NO. OF PAGES:1

MEDIA STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,
THURSDAY 24 AUGUST 2000

“JUNIOR DOCTOR DEBT REDUCTION SHOULD COME FROM EDUCATION SERVICE, NOT HEALTH”

“Any proposal to fund a reduction of junior doctor debt should come from the education service instead of the health service,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today.
“The government’s reported proposal to reduce junior doctor debts caused by excessive medical and dental training costs and the punitive student loan scheme might assist a resolution of the serious industrial dispute. But this could only happen if the debt reduction is significant rather than mere tinkering.”
“The critically serious doctor shortage that is responsible for the dispute is largely caused by a failed education policy. Public hospitals are not funded to meet the costs of this failure.”
“Public hospitals should not be expected to bail out the disastrous results of a failed education policy,” concluded Mr Powell.

Ian Powell
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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