Page 3457 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 18 September 1991
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which will assist us in sorting out these matters. One is the introduction of an integrated day surgery service. As a result of that, we will have some reductions in the average length of stay, in line with national trends. There are national trends emerging which Labor intends to pursue to ensure that the savings which were announced by the Alliance Government but never pursued in relation to the hospital redevelopment are, in fact, secured. Labor will do that. We will not talk about it; we will do it.
Part of that process, of course, is ensuring that we stay in line with the national trends of shorter length of stay, and it will mean pursuing the introduction of new technology and a changed way of delivering procedures within our hospital system. There is no question about it; if there is a need for fewer hospital beds we will not keep open unnecessary hospital beds. But we will ensure that the necessary number of beds are open to ensure that the people of the ACT have access to quality acute care.
Mr Humphries: You are caught out, Wayne.
MR BERRY: Mr Humphries says "caught out". I think he has got it wrong. He has got it wrong again. He got it wrong when he was managing the hospital system himself. He was not able to keep a rein on the hospital budget system. He did not even bother to follow it through. He having not followed it through, we ended up with a huge budget blow-out, $6m of which was because of unapproved activity.
Mr Humphries: Is this the Follett Government you are talking about?
MR BERRY: That is your ministry, Mr Humphries. They are the sorts of things that Labor has had to follow up on and, of course, fix. Labor is about fixing these problems, and part of that process is, as I have announced, the introduction of efficiencies which will ensure that the people of the ACT end up with a stronger public hospital system as a result of the actions that we will pursue. We will not just talk about it; we are going to deliver. The board have offered up savings to ensure that the budget that the Government has decided upon will be delivered.
At the same time, of course, things that were not addressed by the former Government will be pursued by this Government, specifically in the area of financial management. A significant amount of funding has been put aside to make sure that the financial management of our hospital system works better. We have done that as a priority - something that the former Government failed to do, even though it knew about it from day one of its taking of government in 1989. We have acted quickly to provide funds to improve the financial management of our hospital system, and we will work towards ensuring that the financial management of the system works better.
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