Page 4174 - Week 13 - Thursday, 25 November 1993
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Some initiatives in this year's budget include the expansion of the child at risk unit to allow more children who are abused to be appropriately assessed; the expansion of the child immunisation program in line with the Government's commitment to ensure that the maximum number of children are immunised; funding for a women's halfway house for drug and alcohol affected women; extension of the current after hours crisis service to respond to a wider range of people, including those with an intellectual disability, personality disorder or psychiatric illness; funding to allow two children with Ondine's curse to be cared for at home rather than in a hospital; funding for a number of essential pieces of new and replacement equipment, including an angiography suite, a fluoroscopy table, an automated bacteriology processor/reader, dental chairs, hospital beds, surgical instruments and equipment to allow ACT Health to purchase cheaper electricity; and funding for essential information technology infrastructure. At the same time, Health will become more efficient by continuing to treat more people, on average, with fewer resources.
These initiatives complement the ongoing work in ACT Health. The outlook for ACT Health for 1993-94 is to keep building on those past achievements, to ensure that it maintains an excellent and comprehensive service to the community. With the redevelopment of Woden Valley Hospital past the halfway mark, as has been mentioned by the Chief Minister, the establishment of a clinical school in the ACT, a new Medicare agreement and much improved financial management, as has been acknowledged in this place before, clearly ACT Health is on track and on target, despite the criticisms of the Opposition. It is progressing at a fast clip.
I would like to outline some of the major successes for ACT Health over the last financial year and some of the major plans for this financial year. First, I want to refer to the hospital redevelopment. During 1992-93 the ACT public hospital redevelopment, as I have said, passed the halfway mark, with works to the value of $90m-plus either in progress or completed. Some of the significant milestones include the completion and the opening of the paediatric unit in March by my colleague Mr Lamont, and the opening of the radiation oncology department by me in May of 1993. It gives me - - -
Mr Humphries: Mrs Carnell was free.
Mrs Carnell: Yes. I was not even asked.
Mr De Domenico: Did you get an invitation to that?
Mrs Carnell: No.
Mr De Domenico: I did not either.
MR BERRY: You do not have the knockers hanging around. You would not have them hanging around. All you do is knock us. You do not expect us to slap you on the back and give you a free cup of tea if you keep knocking the system.
Mr De Domenico: It is like the old Conrad Black story, is it not? "If you do not agree with me I will not invite you."
Mr Humphries: That is right. It is Conrad Black all over again.
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