Page 3455 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 13 October 1993

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MINISTER FOR HEALTH

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION

QUESTION NO. 973

Hospital Waiting Lists

Mr Moore - asked the Minister for Health:

In relation to funding to reduce waiting lists in public hospitals that was provided recently by the Federal Government -

(1) Is it all being used for the purpose assigned.

(2) What improvement in waiting lists can be expected.

Mr Berry - the answer to Mr Moores question is:

(1) In 1992-93, the Commonwealth made available to the ACT Government

$647 000 under the Hospital Access Program (HAP) to reduce waiting lists.

Some of this money has been used for structural reform of the waiting lists. In

addition $407 200 (of which, $65 000 was "rolled over" into 1993-94) was

allocated to Woden Valley Hospital (WVH) and $98 000 to Calvary Public

Hospital to provide additional elective surgery to target public patients waiting

for prolonged periods.

(2) A total of 320 patients received elective surgery as a result of these funds being

made available, 252 at WVH and 68 at Calvary Public Hospital.

Elective surgery waiting lists are highly volatile and are easily affected by many external factors, including the addition of extra people to the waiting list (which the hospitals have relatively little control over). As a result of the many extraneous factors, the overall impact of the HAP funding appears marginal.

3455

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