Page 3672 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 15 October 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
best results for health in the ACT - not just for the period of this budget but also for the future, if this is about laying a sound base for the future of our health system in the ACT. Mr Moore, quite rightly, said that Labor was committed to a strong public health system, as well as a community health system. We intend to work to improve the community health system as well.
Mr Humphries: Then why are you cutting community nursing?
MR BERRY: But I should say that community health has not been released from the requirement to live within budget. They are being required to introduce efficiencies, as well as the rest of the health budget.
Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, one of the things that will take place in the next few days is that a group of people from the ACT will be going to the Illawarra area to see how the improved delivery of service in the hospital system has affected community health in that area.
Mr Humphries: That is the Liberal Government of New South Wales, I take it, that has done that.
MR BERRY: The effect on community health needs to be evaluated because in the ACT we are going to go through a process which will deliver a much better health system for the size of this Territory than exists in New South Wales, but we will do it in a different way from the Greiner Government. We will do it in consultation with our trade unions, to ensure that we get a result with which people agree - not one that leads to confrontation, as is going on in New South Wales.
Mr Humphries: What about outside last week? What was that, if not confrontation?
MR BERRY: Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, Mr Humphries talks about the demonstration by nurses outside the Assembly last week. It is a fact that nurses are concerned about the future of health, and they have a right to demonstrate their commitment to the delivery of better health services. We will continue to work with nurses to ensure that we get the best result in health in the Territory.
Mr Moore raised a couple of other things in relation to a leaked document that was published by the Canberra Times, which I will touch on briefly. One of the proposals that are currently being discussed by the board with relevant unions is a reduction in weekend domiciliary care by dropping cover from seven nurses to five. That means that a couple of nurse positions for weekend cover will be eliminated. They are just matters that are up for discussion. The role of these senior nurses was to advise on client-staffing issues; they were not involved directly
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .