Page 4562 - Week 15 - Tuesday, 14 December 1993
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I have seen, as I am sure the Minister and others have, complaints made to the hospital. When you look at the responses, the complaints have been glossed over and have not been handled terribly appropriately. I suppose there are lots of excuses. It is very important, if we are going to set up this unit - it is one that we totally support - that that sort of glossing over of inefficiencies in the system does not happen.
Mr Berry: You are talking nonsense.
MRS CARNELL: I hope that I am. I am sure that you will tell us why it is nonsense. It is also very important that the professional boards are appropriately fitted into this whole legislation. As we know, when you come to health complaints, there are some complaints that are actually the basis of illegalities. A provider has done something that is illegal and therefore the police can actually do something about it. The vast percentage of complaints are against conduct that is unprofessional, that is inefficient; but let us get back to the unprofessional conduct. The only mechanism that we have in our community to do something about providers that are unprofessional is via our professional boards. They are the only people who have power to do anything about providers that do not do anything illegal but are unprofessional. Therefore, our boards must be utilised properly. The amendment that I will move later will greatly enhance the capacity of our boards to adequately protect the public.
What we have to focus on here is that the only reason that this Assembly tonight will be passing this legislation is to better protect the public. It is to give the public a very definite and very obvious way of complaining about problems that they perceive they have, in both the public sector and the private sector of health. I think that can give us a better health system, in both the public sector and the private sector. I know that the rest of the Liberal Party feel the same way. We certainly have a lot of concerns about the consultation approach that was taken with this Bill; but Ms Szuty, I am sure, will elaborate on that. In essence, Mr Deputy Speaker, we support this Bill. We certainly will be looking for support for our amendment which I will speak on later.
MS SZUTY (8.16): Like Mrs Carnell, I support the Bill in principle, and I recognise that the establishment of the Health Complaints Unit is a matter that the Government has been working towards for some time. However, I do want to talk in some detail this evening about the consultation process which was involved in the consideration of this issue. To consider how the Government in the Assembly - - -
Members interjected.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
MS SZUTY: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. In fact, my remarks are particularly for the benefit of the Minister for Health, Mr Berry, who does not appear to be listening to me at present.
I want to speak in some detail to the Government and the Assembly on the consultation process that was followed in considering this piece of legislation. The draft Health Complaints Bill, as we know, was released as an exposure package from 26 August this year until 30 September. We know from the Minister's presentation speech that the Government also distributed 300 copies of
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