Page 5267 - Week 17 - Thursday, 13 December 1990
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board could direct the keeping of clinical records by members of staff and health services consultants, and the maintenance of those clinical records in accordance with the required standards.
It clearly gives notice to the medical profession that the board would mean business. In the circumstances, I think, firstly, that the medical profession has not made a convincing attempt to implement quality assurance programs throughout the ACT; and, secondly, that we are yet to see the fruit of its promises; but we ought to be able to say to the medical profession and other professionals that we mean business about quality assurance in our hospital system and everybody has six months to deliver the goods, otherwise there will be regulation of the requirement for those professionals to deliver.
I think that is a reasonable approach in the circumstances, and I call on the Minister to support this amendment. He should see the relative merits of this. He only has to consult the history books on the provision of medical services in the ACT to understand that there is a need for action to be taken. To be frank, I would be quite happy if the health professionals were able to deliver the goods in respect of this. I must say that it not only applies to the medical profession - although it is only the AMA which has given the undertaking - it also applies to other health professionals, as far as I can make out, and there have been no undertakings from those other health professionals.
So, there is a gap in what has been promised by Dr Bates. I am sure that Dr Bates means what he says; but I have to say that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and so far we have not seen the doctors able to produce, although they have, on many occasions, complained that quality assurance in the ACT is not up to scratch. They have complained to me, but they have not been able to put together the wherewithal to produce an adequate quality assurance program in our public hospital system.
I think this would be a message to health professionals that this Government, this Assembly, means business on behalf of the Australian Capital Territory community. We demand better performance. We demand the right to have quality assurance properly measured in our hospital system. We demand proper accreditation of our hospitals as a result of these quality assurance activities. I think that the amendments speak for themselves, Mr Speaker, and I look forward to some support from Minister Humphries on this matter.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Berry, in order to prevent the possibility of an amendment to your amendment and further debate on it, I would ask you to look at the last two words of your first paragraph there. Instead of "reinstated", would the words "take effect" be more appropriate?
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