Page 1087 - Week 04 - Thursday, 29 March 1990
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accommodation or building alternative accommodation on the Acton Peninsula. That, I think, is entirely appropriate. The same goes for the Jindalee Nursing Home; the same goes for, for example, the possible resiting of accommodation for departmental officials on that site.
MS FOLLETT: But what is the cost of refurbishing the buildings?
MR HUMPHRIES: I do not know.
MS FOLLETT: You do not know.
Health Service Access
DR KINLOCH: Mr Speaker, my question is to Mr Humphries in his role as Minister for Health. There was a letter in the Canberra Times this morning from a very worried mother, who was worried about going from Belconnen across the city to Woden, especially perhaps in winter. I understand she has an asthmatic son and this tends to be an urgent problem. Could the Minister indicate how the new circumstances would relate to that and what impact the redevelopment decision would have on the access of north Canberra and Belconnen residents to health services?
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I thank Dr Kinloch for his question. I did note the concern in Mrs Marion Le's letter. She expressed deep concern about the Government's proposal to relocate or reorganise hospitals in the ACT. I think that is a well-expressed concern and needs to be addressed quite fairly.
Mr Moore: She stood with the Residents Rally.
MR HUMPHRIES: Well, she may be a member of the Residents Rally, Mr Moore, but the fact is that she raised concerns that were legitimate and deserve to be addressed. The fact is that access is a vital issue to delivery of health services and there is little point in having the best services in Canberra if people do not have access to them.
I have no doubt that the redevelopment I outlined earlier this week will significantly improve access to health services for all Canberrans and provide a better quality of health service to the people of Canberra. The closure of Royal Canberra and the development of Woden Valley as the principal hospital will not be done in isolation. A vital element is the upgrading of Calvary Hospital. Calvary will be upgraded as a fully public, 300 bed hospital with expanded obstetric services and the early establishment - and when I say "early", I mean probably before the end of this year - of a 24 hour accident emergency service replacing the existing part-time one servicing the people of north Canberra and Belconnen.
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