Page 2253 - Week 07 - Thursday, 6 June 1991

MINISTER FOR HEALTH, EDUCATION AND THE ARTS

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION

QUESTION TAKEN ON NOTICE ON 2 MAY 1991

Acting Director of Pathology

MR BERRY - asked the Minister for Health, Education and

the Arts:

Is the Minister aware that the acting Director of

Pathology spends three afternoons per week working for a

private pathology company in competition with the Board

of Healths Pathology Department? How will the Minister

resolve this conflict of interest?

MR HUMPHRIES -the answer to Mr Berry’s question is :

The Acting Director of Pathology provides, and has been

providing for the past three years, consultative service

on patient specimens to a private pathology company, in

accordance with the agreement between the ACT Health

Authority and the ACT Medical Officers Association, which

applies to all salaried Medical Specialists employed by

the ACT Board of Health. This agreement allows two

sessions of outside employment per week to all

Specialists - the Acting Director of Pathology has

official approval as per the terms of agreement.

There is no conflict of interest involved since the Board

of Healths Pathology Department does not compete with

the private pathology laboratories in actively obtaining

pathology specimens from John James Memorial Hospital and

General Practitioners. In fact, since his appointment,

the Acting Director of Pathology has contributed

significantly in raising standards and the profile of the

Pathology Department - a fact acknowledged by ACT Medical

Specialists.

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