Page 663 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 23 March 1993
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But I return to health and the very real problems that are occurring in that area. A number of organisations and many people are attempting to put forward real solutions to our health problems. Those real solutions include using the resources at our disposal. That means allowing the private sector to be part of the overall equation to improve health in the ACT. Time and time again, Mr Berry has chosen to overlook those people who are willing and ready to help - like he was with the methadone Bill. It is particularly important that the ACT refocuses on primary health care, as is the case in many other States - something that the ACT, once again, is overlooking. Mr Berry is very capable of standing up and making comments about getting people out of hospital quicker. The average length of stay is 4.9 days. That is very important in overcoming our budgetary problems in the health area. We have to make people's length of stay in hospital substantially shorter.
But what he does not do is back that up with proper domiciliary care, with new services and improved existing services, to allow people to have appropriate care at home if they are going to be discharged from hospital quicker.
Mr Berry: Yes, we do.
MRS CARNELL: That is just not true. The level of domiciliary nursing visits in the ACT has substantially reduced. In fact, it has reduced at almost the same rate as the average length of stay has reduced in the ACT over the last - - -
Mr Berry: And they do their work differently - smarter.
MRS CARNELL: It is very hard to look at them as smarter visits if there are fewer visits. But still, we should be looking at all of those priorities. Should we have a home-based intravenous service in the ACT? That is something that has not, to my knowledge, even been looked at here, whereas all other States are looking at these innovative programs that will allow people to stay at home. Nothing is being done in the ACT.
Of course, it is very hard to talk about priorities without talking about the new, or supposedly new, Mental Health Act - something that has been on the books for so long. We are told that it is in this session that we will finally see this legislation.
Mr Berry: We are doing it.
MRS CARNELL: I certainly hope so. It was going to be last year and that did not happen. A lot of people out there are suffering. The Labor Party are very good at saying that they care about the community and that they are all about social justice. I do not necessarily disagree with that. What I do believe is that in a number of areas you have badly underestimated the need in the community.
The other area of concern is IDS, the Intellectual Disability Service - an area which is badly underfunded. The parents of the often young people involved regularly write to all of you, as they do to us, because the services just are not there. Their capacity to input into the lives of their children - - -
Mr Berry: Which services are not there, and how would you provide them and with what?
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