Page 859 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 13 March 1991
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Hospital Services
MR BERRY: My question is to the Minister for Health, Education and the Arts. Minister, is it true that, to overcome the disastrous overcrowding of Woden Valley Hospital, the Government is considering a $2.5m plan to move rehabilitation and aged care from the south campus to the north campus of the Royal Canberra Hospital? I would ask you as well: What is the new estimated cost of the Government's hospital redevelopment plan? Will the costs be met from within budget. If so, what other services are to be cut? You might also advise what consultation has gone on with medical staff.
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, once again the rumourmongers that feed Mr Berry have got it wrong. There is no proposal to move the rehabilitation and aged care unit - or at least there is no decision to remove the rehabilitation and aged care unit to the north campus of Royal Canberra Hospital. At one stage a question was put to the Government concerning whether it would be appropriate to relocate that service to the north campus, given that the Government, as Mr Berry would have heard yesterday if he was paying attention, has decided to establish a slow stream convalescent care unit at the north campus. However, it was decided by the Government that that would not be an appropriate move.
There is already a well-established service with ample facilities, some of them only recently upgraded, at the south campus, and it would be appropriate to leave those facilities there. That is the Government's decision, and I can tell Mr Berry and the others who spread the rumours around the place that there is no justification for the assertion that we are going to move it; we will not be moving it. Therefore, the other questions that he asked are redundant. Certainly the answer to the question whether the hospitals development project is on target is the same as yesterday: Yes, it is.
Department of Urban Services Float
MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, my question is to Mr Duby as Minister for Urban Services. Minister, I notice that the Department of Urban Services float won first prize in the parade last Saturday and I congratulate your department on its achievement. But I wonder whether you would clarify a few points by giving this Assembly a breakdown of the costs involved in creating the float. In particular, how many people helped to build it; how many hours did it actually take to build; was any overtime claimed for those hours and, for that matter, for the participation; and, if not, does that mean that it was built during standard Public Service working hours? If it was, what more pressing public problems were left unattended while this endeavour was taking place?
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