Page 415 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 13 May 1992
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have another blow-out?". They said, "Sure. We will have to put up the waiting lists, of course; we will have to reduce bed numbers; and we cannot have that fifth ambulance you promised. But we will make sure that you do not have another hospital budget blow-out". He said, "Thank you, thank you". Of course, he was disappointed. He has had that.
We really do not have much to go on here that in any way justifies this statement by the Minister:
Under Labor, unprecedented progress has been made in the development and upgrading of the Territory's public hospital system.
Madam Speaker, I have to say that, if you believe that things really are better under this Minister, I have a harbour bridge to sell you.
MSÂ SZUTY (3.42): I also would like to address some of the issues that were raised in the ministerial paper on World Health Day. I believe that the Government is to be commended for its commitment to the concept of providing preventative health care for ACT residents, as well as providing the highest quality public hospital services for the community.
Prior to the election the Michael Moore Independent Group, as part of its health policy, made the following statements:
All people are entitled to the highest quality health care.
And:
Preventative community care makes economic sense.
It is obvious that the more people take responsibility for their health care the less stress will be placed on expensive hospital treatment in the longer term. The introduction of the birthing centre is a positive step in providing options for women. The operations of the birthing centre should be monitored against need and expanded to meet demand when the need arises.
I remain concerned, however, about current hospital waiting lists and the plight of ACT residents who are unable to receive treatment when it is needed. I urge the ACT Government to place the needs of patients in the hospital system first and the needs of the administration second. The Commonwealth Grants Commission has recently drawn the attention of the ACT Government to above State average expenditure in health and has identified as a major area of concern the level of administration in the health system.
If the ACT Labor Government wants to demonstrate to the ACT community that it truly wants to improve the care of patients in the hospital system, it can concurrently look at levels of administration in health and actively seek to reduce them. I understand that there have been efficiencies, as outlined in the annual report of the Board of Health, towards the 30 per cent reduction in staff in corporate services. I accept that the Government has looked at this area but would urge that further emphasis be put on service delivery.
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