AFTER only six weeks in government, it is disappointing in the extreme to hear Labor Premier Daniel Andrews insulting and disparaging public health experts who have repeatedly called for Victoria's public paediatric hospitals to be free from fast food outlets such as American multi-national goliath McDonald's.
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In classic neo-conservative style, Mr Andrews has irresponsibly dismissed eminent expert advice as "nanny statism" and advised such people as former VicHealth head Professor Rob Moodie and current Obesity Policy Coalition head Jane Martin to "get over themselves".
It is outrageous that Mr Andrews should be so eager to endorse the fast food industry to the detriment of responsible public health policy.
One in four Australian children are obese and two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese and the cost to the public health system of this obesity crisis is currently in the tens of billions of dollars.
Why is it that Andrews, who promised responsible and progressive government, should be so blind to such an obvious contradiction as fast food within a hospital, particularly a children's hospital?
No doubt the fast food industry, and McDonald's in particular, will be relieved to know that they can continue to legitimise their ill-health creating products for the foreseeable future.
Super-sized Coke, Big Macs, Quarter-pounders and fries are already associated with our world-class Royal Children's Hospital, contrary to overwhelming health-science research which shows that fast food fuels the burgeoning rate of obesity-related chronic ill-health.
Several decades ago, as a 17-year-old trainee nurse, I stood appalled at the bedside of my patient, minutes post anaesthetic for amputation of his leg, as he requested "a fag".
My 60-year-old patient was dying of chronic heart, lung and vascular disease. He had been a smoker from the age of 9.
His surgeon and my charge nurse granted his request for a cigarette because "it no longer mattered". As a dutiful junior, I nipped down to the hospital kiosk to purchase a packet of Benson & Hedges for my painfully dying patient.
Will this be the experience of some future student nurse, except he'll be nipping down to the in-hospital fast food outlet?
