Page 2283 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 17 August 1993
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So Gary Humphries, quite contrary to what he said earlier, said in March 1990 that the hospice would be co-located with the major public hospitals. That is what Gary Humphries said. So I say to you, Mr Humphries - - -
Mr Connolly: Read that bit again.
MR BERRY: I will read that again:
These facilities will be collocated with the major public hospitals and will also be developed as part of the overall hospital program.
That is what you said. I suggest that you eat the words that you uttered earlier. There we have it, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Alliance Government announced in March 1990 that there was going to be a hospice beside a major hospital. Of course, any further investigations were done with that stated policy in mind. There is no question about it; the Government had a position - it is in Hansard - and people just move down the path of providing facilities in accordance with government policies. So you have been caught on that one, Mr Humphries, as you were on many other issues when you were Health Minister.
In 1990 ACT Health commissioned a report on likely future directions for palliative care from Dr Ruth Redpath and Professor Ian Maddocks. Both these people are specialist medical practitioners in the area of palliative medicine. Not surprisingly, their report has a strong medical flavour and an emphasis on the role of the medical director. Professor Maddocks is the director of a hospice that is co-located with a hospital. It is therefore not that surprising that he suggests that the ACT hospice should also be near a hospital. The report also recommended a hospice in the first instance on the Calvary site and a second hospice on the Woden campus.
Mrs Carnell: That is right; in the fullness of time.
MR BERRY: Now, wait for it. This recommendation would have involved the duplication not only of the hospice facility but also of the home-based palliative care service. That is what Gary Humphries intended to do. The Government's decision to locate the hospice at Acton was made after consideration of the published reports and it is interesting to note that in many cases the experts themselves cannot agree. A further report, Mr Deputy Speaker, by the Palliative Care Society was conducted as part of the hospital redevelopment project. This report recommended the establishment of a hospice within the grounds of Calvary Hospital and disagreed with the Maddocks report recommendation of a second hospice at Woden. Confusion reigned, but they were both acting in accordance with Mr Humphries's stated position; that is, that it would be built at a hospital, contrary to what he said to this Assembly earlier.
The Follett Government, in the aftermath of the decision by the Alliance Government to close Royal Canberra Hospital, made a commitment to the people of Canberra to retain Acton Peninsula for health facilities. After taking into consideration the need for a hospice facility to be acceptable to all members of the community, including the non-religious, and being firmly convinced that the hospice did not need to be located near a hospital, the Government made the
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