Page 69 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 13 February 1990
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In addition, my colleague Mr Humphries has asked the hospital board and his department to undertake a further development of savings in a number of areas including: a review of the patient acuity classification system, ACTPAC; a review of the potential for charges to be made for visiting medical officer use of public hospital facilities for the treatment of private patients; the capacity to increase the use of enrolled nurses; the capacity to limit the number of call-backs to essential cases; greater flexibility in the use of redeployed staff to target areas of greatest need in the hospital system; and requesting the hospital board to quickly achieve the full implementation of an admission and discharge policy.
Since the announcement of these measures, my colleague Mr Humphries has reached agreement with the Australian Nurses Federation that a variety of nursing conditions, including rostering, will be reviewed under the Industrial Relations Commission's structural efficiency principle.
The task ahead is not an easy one and my colleague Mr Humphries is going to make no bones about that. However, the Government is determined to move forward in this important area and I ask the ACT community for their support while we seek to restructure our public hospitals and improve the delivery and efficiency of health services.
This is one outline of the Alliance Government's program, portfolio by portfolio. In regard to interrelated portfolio activity, I am also keen to comment upon the intentions of my colleague Mr Duby in his area of important responsibility.
Mr Moore: Why do you not suspend standing orders and let him do it?
Mr Whalan: Mr Speaker, on a point of order, if you do not rule in relation to this matter, then you are making a farce of the proceedings of this Assembly. It is quite clear that because of the incompetence of the people opposite they were not able to cope with the standing orders - - -
Mr Kaine: I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker. The only incompetence on this matter is that of the Opposition who failed to see that we were moving the same motion that they moved recently which suspended standing orders. That is where the incompetence is. Mr Collaery should be allowed to speak as he is now permitted by the Assembly to do.
Mr Whalan: If you will allow me to complete my point of order, Mr Speaker, the motion was quite clear - it was to allow Mr Collaery to complete his remarks. I believe that you have allowed a certain amount of leeway in the farce of Mr Humphries handing over his notes to be completed, and I think you were in a bit of a bind there because he had
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