Shadow Minister for Health Leanne Castley has hit out at the Health Minister for going missing and refusing to take responsibility for the current health crisis as COVID cases continue to rise.

Ms Castley said the Labor-Greens government can spin new excuses, but the Minister has been in the job for three years and was in charge when $23 million was allocated to build the Garran Surge Centre two years ago.

“It is not acceptable for the government to say the reason they can’t use the Garran Surge Centre as intended is because they do not have the staff to run it,” Ms Castley said.

“Why build the Surge Centre if the Minister knew it was unable to be properly staffed? The Minister should have known that two years ago if she had done her job properly.

“But, as the nurses’ union has repeatedly said, workforce planning has “fallen off the wagon” over the last two years.

“What planning did the Minister do before she invested $23 million to build the Surge Centre, which is now a white elephant giving Covid-19 advice and dealing with cuts and abrasions.”

Ms Castley said the Labor-Greens government is also not being upfront with Canberrans by saying the centre was not suitable for overnight stays.

The 1700 square metre facility has capacity for 50 beds including six resuscitation bays, 32 acute non-admitted treatment bays and 12 short-stay overnight beds.

“The fact is the Minister has no plan for our health system; she has failed Canberrans in not planning for demand and we await the next instalment of government spin as to why it is all beyond her control,” Ms Castley concluded.