Pat McCrory says the state should not certify its own hospital.
The Republican gubernatorial nominee said that he objects to the decision to strike a provision from the state budget that would have required a new Central Regional Hospital in Butner to be approved by outside inspectors before it opened.
The decision also means that Dorothea Dix hospital in Raleigh could be closed sooner.
"In another secret back room meeting, the political establishment in Raleigh has arrogantly dismissed the welfare of mental health patients and decreed through the budget that the state does not have to comply with the same regulations it places on everyone else," he said in a statement.
He noted that hospitals normally have to pass "rigorous reviews," but not mental hospitals run by the state.
"The Department of Health and Human Services, which is racked with scandal and over $400 million misspent in mental health, will now move forward with closing Dix Hospital and opening Central Regional without independent review," he said.
Earlier this morning, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beverly Perdue said she also objects to the decision.
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Re: McCrory objects to faster Butner opening
It is reassuring that both guberbatorial candidates think bypassing laws to get what you want is not a good thing. I can only hope that will be their view when the one left standing in November is elected. Ms. Perdue was quick to say that she "has no clout" in the legislature to halt the closing of Dix and Umstead Hospitals.
I have reserved my opinion on Dempsey Benton until now while trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. After Tuesday's decision to close Dix and the manner in which it was carried out convinces me that he is no better than Carmen Hooker Odom. The Governor wanted the patients off the property period. That one thing is for certain and Mr. Benton put his blinders on and plowed ahead. He had thinktank groups who gave him critical advice but he would not listen.
The bad guys won today;the patients lost.What respect I had for Mr. Benton was left on the steps of Dix. Think of the patients while they are moving to Butner. Saying the new hospital is safe countless times does not make it safe.