Page 4102 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 24 November 1993
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The other area that is causing Mr Berry somewhat of a concern is private health insurance.
Mr Berry: It is not worrying me.
MRS CARNELL: Mr Berry, interestingly, says that levels of private health insurance do not worry him. He has said that quite often too. The last activity report shows that the number of bed days occupied by private patients is down to 26.2 per cent. That compares with 32.1 per cent in the same quarter last year. So we have tracked from 32.1 per cent down to 26.2 per cent. That is the reason we have a significant shortfall in revenue. If this tracking continues we will end up with a revenue shortfall. I think it is important for Mr Berry to stop not caring about it and to start supporting Senator Richardson. Senator Richardson understands that this is going to cause a huge problem in public health in this country. He understands that if this continues to happen our public hospital system just cannot cope, and, particularly, the ACT public hospital system just cannot cope. Already we have fewer hospital beds; already we have occupancy rates that are at critical levels. Where are we going to put these patients? They just cannot be accommodated. Inevitably, if fewer people have private health insurance in this community, more will rely on the public system, and the ACT system just cannot cope. As well, of course, there will be a quite dramatic revenue shortfall.
Here we have a situation where Mr Berry has a $3m-plus blow-out; his activity levels are continuing to go up, even though he did not budget for them; and private health insurance continues to fall, though he does not care about that. What is the Minister doing to overcome this crisis?
Mr De Domenico: Nothing.
MRS CARNELL: Well, interestingly, he is doing a few things. He is cutting bed numbers. He actually closed ward 10A. That was another nine beds down the tube - a very appropriate approach, taking into account that we already have fewer public hospital beds than anywhere else.
Mr Berry: Beds are not the measure, and you know it; and Gary Humphries knows it too.
MRS CARNELL: He has increased his occupancy rates. I accept that bed numbers in themselves are not an issue. I fully accept that. Occupancy rates are and waiting lists are. If you have fewer public hospital beds, if your occupancy rates are 90 per cent plus and if your waiting lists increase, what does it tell you, Mr Berry? It tells you that you do not have enough beds. It is very easy, it is very simple; anyone can understand it. Anyway, Mr Berry decides, because he has a budget blow-out, that he is going to cut beds, even though we do not have enough now, which is going to increase occupancy even though it is critically high already. He continues to say that shoving patients out of hospitals quicker, decreasing the average length of stay, will overcome all the problems. Unfortunately, he does not put extra resources into the community to pick up the tab, he does not increase HACC funding, and so, when people are shoved out of hospital quicker, hopefully they just go away. That is not terribly appropriate either, because that is when your readmission levels start to go up.
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