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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2109 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

People do not always like to be, or want to be, in a hospital. They do not always respond well to the environment of a hospital. Devices that we can employ to give people the option of treatment of a specialised nature outside a hospital setting has to be good news for a great many people in this community for whom the very thought of going to a hospital could be absolutely terrifying. So, Mr Speaker, it is a little unfortunate that Mr Berry's broadside is aimed at Mrs Carnell and the Government's handling of health. In fact, I think it casts some aspersions on those people within the hospital system who have been working hard in the last few months to get this hospital in the home program under way.

Mr Berry says that we are sliding backwards. Mr Berry seems to ignore the available evidence about this matter, particularly the evidence available on the very tests that he, himself, used to feel were important tests of the success or failure of the hospital system - namely, things like throughput and particularly hospital waiting lists. Under Mrs Carnell, under the Liberal Government, those waiting lists have fallen - not a lot, I concede, not as much as we would like, but they have fallen. If that is, in Mr Berry's language, sliding backwards, then I look forward to our sliding backwards a lot more and a lot more quickly in the coming months.

Mr Speaker, before the Opposition gets too carried away about attacking the cost-saving elements of a program for early discharge, let me remind members that it was Mr Berry in 1989 who introduced the first early discharge program - namely, the mid-call program - and that that program has been successful in offering many women the opportunity of getting out of hospital earlier than they would otherwise be able to and the chance to recuperate in their own homes. So, Mr Speaker, I have to say that I think the attack has been most ill founded. This is a very important program. We should acknowledge and give credit for the successes and achievements of the system where it makes them, and this is certainly a case where it has made those sorts of achievements.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Minister for Health and Community Care) (4.52), in reply: Mr Speaker, in an area like this, I thought we would have ended up with some sort of bipartisan approach to an initiative that is being taken all over this country and that was started under the previous Government. But, no, Mr Berry could not do that, not even for just 10 minutes or so. Mr Berry made comments about the blow-out in the health budget. This side of the Assembly has made it very clear that we do not find that situation acceptable, and that is the reason why we are looking at ways of being able to maintain improved patient care for less money. Shock, horror! What a good idea! That is one of the things that this approach is about - how we provide better patient care, in more appropriate surroundings, in a more cost-effective way. That would appear to me to be one of the things that health management is all about.

Mr Berry made some comments about the general state of health at the moment. Mr Berry might be interested to know that, on the figures that are available, to the end of April, in the ACT we have done, I think, 13,382 surgical operations, compared with 12,340 - over 1,000 more - for the same period - - -

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