Page 3299 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 12 October 1993
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I was asked that we provide some information by specialty in the ACT, and we did that. We also showed an additional figure, which even Mr Humphries did not include when he was Health Minister; that is, the figure for the people who are waiting from the time they are allocated a day for their surgery to the day they actually get it. So we now have a more complete measure of waiting lists within the hospital system. But again I caution everybody; do not use waiting lists as the measure of hospital performance.
I have demonstrated, right across the board, that the public hospital system is performing much better in all respects. It has all happened under Labor. We are doing much better, and the community knows that. We cannot continue to tolerate the misinformation which Mrs Carnell tries to peddle out there in the community. Just a little while ago, when I was considering this answer to the committee's response, I looked at these figures and I saw - - -
Mrs Carnell: Considering what?
MR BERRY: Considering the answer which was to go to the committee. I looked at the figures and I thought, "Hello, here is a little opportunity for a press release from Mrs Carnell - the number booked". We were going to include the number booked. The answer went to the committee and I waited and waited. It has taken almost a week, but she has woken up at last that there is a new figure in there. The new figure is the number booked.
Mrs Carnell: It is the number waiting.
MR BERRY: The new figure is the number booked for surgery.
Mr Humphries: Oh, there is a difference.
MR BERRY: Mr Humphries giggles and laughs. He did not even count them. Mrs Carnell knows exactly what I am talking about, but she would prefer to misinform the community. This is a campaign of misinformation about waiting lists. So there we have it, Madam Speaker; lesson No. 22. I am quite happy to issue lesson No. 23 if she asks the same question again.
MRS CARNELL: I have a supplementary question. Will the Minister confirm that the real number of people waiting for elective surgery in the ACT at the end of June is 3,119, not 2,870 as he claimed in his June quarter activity report?
MR BERRY: Lesson No. 23.
Mrs Carnell: Is it true or not? Yes or no.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! Mrs Carnell, Mr Berry is endeavouring to answer your question.
MR BERRY: If she could be quiet she might get a chance to listen and it will start to sink in. Mr Humphries counted the waiting list the same way as everybody else from the time that he went out of office. In fact, when Labor was in government in 1989 we counted them without including those booked figures. By way of explanation, so that you will understand, when the booking office calls somebody who needs some surgery and gives them a date, they ring their doctor and say, "Your date for surgery is such and such" and then strike them off the list.
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