Page 873 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 27 March 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
The immediate challenge is to find ways to expand overall production at the centre to create an economy of scale which will enable productivity and efficiency to be improved. In order to do this, the centre will need to access private sector and other public sector markets, both inside and outside the ACT. The ACT community will benefit from this expansion in a number of ways. As the centre expands its activities over time to match the capacity and potential of the facility, new employment opportunities may become available.
The enhanced efficiency of an expanded operation will reduce costs for health budget of the services provided by the centre. It would not be possible for the centre to access the private sector markets which are essential for expanding production to economic levels while it operates within departmental frameworks. The centre must be able to develop commercially if it is to meet the efficiency levels which the ACT community has a right to expect. For this reason the Alliance Government has decided to corporatise the centre.
This means that a corporate business structure will be established separate from the department and the Hospitals Board. While the ACT Government will retain ownership of the centre, it will be independently managed. Many States have corporatised hospital supply functions. The South Australian Linen Service, for example, was corporatised in the early 1980s, resulting in a fivefold increase in production and a similarly impressive revenue increase.
After a period of consultation, business development and planning, the Government will consider whether the business at Mitchell will be incorporated as a company under companies legislation or as a statutory authority under new ACT legislation. This decision will be made by September 1990 and full independent commercial operation will be achieved by September 1991.
To assist the Government to make its final decision about the business model to be adopted for the Health Services Supply Centre, I will be appointing a suitably qualified person as project executive director, for an interim basis, to take full executive responsibility for establishing the business and meeting the Government's timetable. The project executive director will propose a comprehensive business plan to the Government to be put in place by 1 September 1990. In particular, Government will consider managing structures, financial and staffing arrangements, marketing strategies, business targets and implementation arrangements, including management of the transition process. To maximise opportunities, to establish commercial viability, existing ACT Government clients will continue to access these services, currently obtained from the centre until at least September of next year.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .