FINALLY!! We are sending help to treat Ebola.

[i-need-a-martini]

Months after we were asked to step in by the UK and long after the UK, the US and other less wealthy countries stepped in.

Hopefully we can overcome our non-caring reputation with the good works that the larger volunteers numbers are about to start doing.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/ebola-abbott-government-relents-will-send-aust...

[boris1gary]

very few Australians will be given a jersey - there are 100's willing and able to go but aspen says only 1 in 5 will be from here - if that many.

https://ama.com.au/ausmed/govt-takes-private-path-ebola

This is the latest major government health contract awarded to Aspen Medical, which had also been subcontracted by Medibank Private offshoot Medibank Health Solutions to provide on-base health services for Australian Defence Force personnel.

Mr Abbott said the Government had decided to engage a private provider rather than provide the medical services itself because “it is a health emergency, not a military emergency”.

“We are not sending people over,” the PM added.

But A/Professor Owler said that, while the Ebola epidemic was indeed a health emergency, it was also a humanitarian crisis with security and economic issues, and that, in addition to engaging Aspen, the Government should also be looking at deploying Darwin-based AusMAT teams to west Africa.

“We know that there are people in the AUSMAT [Australian Medical Assistance] teams that have done work in places like the Philippines who are prepared and ready for deployment, and who would volunteer to go and do this work,” he said. "There are pre-existing facilities and personnel that we can actually use for treatment in west Africa."

[polksaladallie]

There certainly is a smell to it.  There was the weak excuse that an infected aid worker couldn't be brought back, the 30 hour flight drama, we didn't have facilities her to treat them, etc.   All wrong. 

The government was told weeks ago that Australians could be taken to London, that Australians could be treated in already set up American and British facilities in West Africa, and that all cities here had high quality centres already set up.

The AMA has been begging Abbott for weeks to act.  There have been hundreds of volunteers waiting to go.

And apparently all the time this sneaky plan was being devised.

So we have given only $22 million directly, and now $20 million to this dubious company.

Pukeworthy behaviour.

[gleee58]

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@polksaladallie wrote:

There certainly is a smell to it.  There was the weak excuse that an infected aid worker couldn't be brought back, the 30 hour flight drama, we didn't have facilities her to treat them, etc.   All wrong. 

The government was told weeks ago that Australians could be taken to London, that Australians could be treated in already set up American and British facilities in West Africa, and that all cities here had high quality centres already set up.

The AMA has been begging Abbott for weeks to act.  There have been hundreds of volunteers waiting to go.

And apparently all the time this sneaky plan was being devised.

So we have given only $22 million directly, and now $20 million to this dubious company.

Pukeworthy behaviour.

---

Unbelievable, these people don't even try to hide the fact that they got the contract because they're friends of the LNP gov.

We donate they give us contracts and all is good because it helps our profits grow. 

All those volunteers in waiting have been overlooked to these people can profit.

[bluecat*dancing]

I take back my  remark about this Government actually doing something good. Pack of self-serving losers.

[i-need-a-martini]

So let me get this straight.

The government has paid a private firm who will pay to send private contract staff (therfore they may have little choice if they want to continue to earn a salary) INSTEAD OF specialist VOLUNTEERS who already have the human and equipment resources and who are trained to deal with emergencies just like this?

[i-need-a-martini]

Is this the reason it has taken months for anything to happen? Because the government was busy wasting time and money going out to tender???

Or maybe it DIDN'T go out to tender and we have just handed an experienced medical corporation a fat wad of money because of their connections to the LNP?

Honestly I cannot believe how low this government can go.

[gleee58]

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@i-need-a-martini wrote:

So let me get this straight.

The government has paid a private firm who will pay to send private contract staff (therfore they may have little choice if they want to continue to earn a salary) INSTEAD OF specialist VOLUNTEERS who already have the human and equipment resources and who are trained to deal with emergencies just like this?

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That's what it looks like.