Page 2120 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 28 May 1991
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MINISTER FOR HEALTH, EDUCATION AND T8$ ARTS
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION
QUESTION TAKEN ON NOTICE ON 16 APRIL 1991
Hospitals - Waiting Lists
MS FOLLETT - asked the minister for Health, Education and the Arts
What will the Government do to prevent a massive blow-out in waiting time, which will result from your proposed reduction in orthopaedic surgery beds, from 36 to 21 beds, given that the waiting list for orthopaedic surgery are already long?
MR HUMPHRIES - the answer to Ms Folletts question is:
At the commencement of the hospitals redevelopment program, there were 15 orthopaedic beds at Royal Canberra Hospital South and 36 beds at Royal Canberra Hospital North, ie a total of 51 beds.
The transfer of services program envisaged that the 15 beds at Royal Canberra Hospital South would move to Calvary Hospital and a further 15 elective orthopaedic surgery beds would move from Royal Canberra Hospital North to Calvary Hospital. Following discussions with the orthopaedic surgeons and after the resolution of role delineation for Calvary Hospital, this program was modified slightly.
The 15 orthopaedic beds from Royal Canberra Hospital South were transferred to Calvary Hospital in October 1990 and 6 of the 27 operating sessions per month at Royal Canberra Hospital North were transferred to Calvary Hospital in December 1990/January 1991.
The Medical Services Working Group agreed that there would be no further transfer of orthopaedic beds from Royal Canberra Hospital North as the current volume of elective beds is required to support the continued service in emergency orthopaedics.
The remaining 36 beds at Royal Canberra North will be transferred
Royal Canberra Hospital South with the transfer of trauma related services in September 1991. This revised program makes it unnecessary for orthopaedic surgery at Royal Canberra Hospital_ North to move to Calvary Hospital and then to Royal Canberra Hospital South.
The total number of orthopaedic beds in the public hospital system before the redevelopment program was 51 and it has not fallen below this number at any stage during the redevelopment or transfer of services.
With regard to the orthopaedic waiting lists, when orthopaedic sessions transferred from Royal Canberra Hospital South to Calvary Hospital in October 1990, the corresponding waiting list was also transferred. Orthopaedic waiting list numbers at Royal Canberra Hospital North have been dropping steadily since June 1990 from 265 to 99.
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