“ Free loading Foreigners are sucking millions of dollars from cash-strapped Victorian hospitals”, Jeremy Kelly firmly states on the 5th of March 2004 in the Herald Sun. Overseas visitors are failing to pay medical bills after getting sick or injured, leaving the hospital with severe “Deficits”. The Human Services Department are now aware of this problem and considering ways to relieve pressure off hospitals. In direct relevance John Ferguson provides a example of a tourist overload, in the Herald Sun 14th April 2004. How the Warley hospital is facing closure due to financial difficulties caused by unpaying visitors attending the Motorcycle Grand Prix.
“Tourists a health cost”, Jeremy Kelly clearly states in the head-line of the article. Then proceeds with fast facts, which refer to the statistics chart on the right of the article, conducted by the Human Services Department. Recalling evidence of last financial year of all state hospitals, how they were “out of pocket by a estimated $3.5 million”. The writer proceeds by bestowing reasons for emergency need for baby deliveries, colds, broken bones etc.
The writer uses strong emotive language to address the problem, a strong tone to identify how serious the problem is. He presses forward issues as if he were a bystander and writes in the mood of being very critical and outraged by what going on. Examples of this include the first paragraph “Freeloading Foreigners…”, and throughout the article disregards what tourists require and focuses on what money and resources are being utilised. Including Health Minister Browyn Pike and her views on the situation strengthen his article. Her views inquire ways to relieve the pressure off hospitals by stating, Visa ‘Should include cover’ on their health insurance. By providing comparisons to other countries people become more inclined to listen and address the issue.
The Research paper on Health Policies in Relation to Nurse to Patient Ratio
One suggested approach to ensure safe and effective patient care has been to mandate nurse staffing ratios. In 1999 California became the first state to mandate minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals. California is not the only state to enact minimum nurse staffing ratios for hospitals, over the past four years at least eighteen other states have considered legislation regarding nurse ...
The reader would tend to agree because he analysis the situation as if he were the reader, critical and straight to the point. Including sufficient evidence, (Recovering Cost Chart) to further address the reader and incline him to agree and support the issue.
In direct effect John Ferguson provides a situation in where a hospital has been “crippled” by tourists overloading emergency care centres. Warley hospital privately runs, but is under threat from unpaying tourists drawn by the Motorcycle Grand Prix. The writer uses threatening clichés to up the intensity of the article, “Emergency department is facing the axe”. Constantly refers to the government to help support privately run hospitals, which then starts to include the reader.
The reader attends to agree when statements from Professional advisors, are included also statements from politicians, invoked by Greg Hunt. But what gets your attention is the lack of support from the government to try and help hospitals in need, which is constantly mentioned in the article.
In the two articles both relating to the ongoing problem of Tourists using medical resources and not paying for it, the articles and other advisors have pressed forward ideas in order to prevent the problem.
