Page 6199 - Week 19 - Tuesday, 17 December 1991
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What this proposal means is that the ACT will not be contributing an extra volume of students to the national work force, and that is significant. There is, of course, a clear delineation between the proposal, which is for a clinical school intended for the final three years of a six-year undergraduate course, and a full-blown medical school where the infrastructure costs could be expected to be significantly higher. The latter suggestion would be an inefficient one for the ACT to consider at this moment.
In terms of a net increase in the cost per student trained, the University of Sydney is proposing to fund its share of this development through a redistribution of existing resources. From the ACT's side, the proposal will be resourced mainly within the hospital system.
A number of positions in the public hospital system are due to become vacant, and there is therefore an opportunity to consider the academic positions proposed through the University of Sydney in conjunction with new appointments, so that a very significant amount of substitution can occur between existing positions and those that could operate in the future with both an academic and a clinical load. The University of Sydney proposal has been discussed with both the University of Canberra and the Australian National University, and there are clear opportunities for close collaboration with each.
Mr Speaker, my particular concern about the clinical school is the potential for it to lead to an undue emphasis on the acute care of the hospital system. As we are all aware, the health of the community is determined by many factors outside of the provision of hospital services. These factors include aspects such as the safety of the environment, clean air and water, good housing, employment levels, education levels, the types of health maintenance activities which individuals practise such as eating healthily, drinking alcohol in moderation, keeping up high levels of exercise and the reduction in smoking.
In terms of health services themselves, the acute sector must take its place beside primary health care and prevention services and those focused on the delivery of care for the chronically ill or those who need to be gradually assisted to more independent living in our community. I have therefore been particularly attracted to the idea of a strong emphasis within the proposed academic structure on community health and aged care. I will be seeking further discussions with the University of Sydney to ensure a specific focus on these two distinct areas.
This Government has made a commitment to the development of the Acton Peninsula for health related purposes, and there is currently in process a planning study to outline the plans for development. There is an enormous potential to develop on the site a state-of-the-art training facility for generalist doctors, nurses and other health
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