Page 981 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 1990
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Mr Moore: I am happy to extend your time. I am sure other members will - - -
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Deputy Speaker, as anyone can see with a cursory glance at the announcement made yesterday by the Government, the fact is that this Government will be expanding the number of public beds provided in the Australian Capital Territory from something like 900 to something like 1,000 in, say, three or four years' time from now. How that diminishes choice; how that diminishes opportunities for people wishing to make services available in the ACT is quite simply beyond me. The logic entailed in Mr Berry's arguments simply escapes me.
The development of a principal hospital will provide a wonderful opportunity to establish a centre of excellence for obstetric services. That will obviously be at the principal hospital which is to be on the Woden Valley site. A centre such as that will be the focus for training and research and will provide a high level service to mothers and babies most at risk of complications. Entailed in that development will be the fact that Calvary Hospital will expand its obstetric services over the next year. This will meet a growing demand in north Canberra and ensure a high quality service is available to more people. If Mr Berry bothered to speak to people in the system he would hear effusive praise for the obstetric services available at Calvary Hospital. They are very good; they are highly prized and valued by those that use them.
Future planning for obstetric services in Canberra will include, as the Government announced yesterday, birthing centre facilities collocated with our major obstetric units. Under the Government's program for redevelopment and upgrading of our public hospitals this will mean that birthing centre facilities are likely to be developed at both the new Royal Canberra Hospital - which will be on the Woden Valley site - and at the Calvary Hospital. It is hoped that the first of these new birthing centre facilities will become available during the next year, possibly being included in the expansion of obstetric services at Calvary Hospital.
I know Mr Berry made a comment about Labor's plan for birthing centres. I must have been away one day, Mr Berry. I missed the press release where you announced you were going to have a birthing centre in Canberra. Perhaps you could refresh my memory as to what day the press release came out, or the announcement in the chamber came out. Perhaps I was not listening. I cannot recall the announcement by the Labor Government that it was going to have a birthing centre. I remember words of support. We have all given words of support. They are very cheap, but Labor made no announcement that I can recall, unlike this Government which was able to announce yesterday that Canberra will have birthing centre facilities. We have made that clear. We are going to provide them and they will be provided soon.
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