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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (19 February) . . Page.. 168 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

Monthly information bulletins have been tabled in the past in a timely manner, about four to five weeks after the end of the relevant month, Mr Speaker. The bulletins contain information on activity levels in terms of the number of admissions, separations, non-inpatient occasions of service and, of course, waiting list data. They are very similar in many ways to the quarterly reports that Mr Berry produced - except, of course, that the quarterly reports were averages. The information is very similar. Mr Speaker, you will be aware that this financial year monthly bulletins have already been produced for July, August, September and October. As you would also be aware, the bulletins for November and December were tabled in the Assembly today. The reason that the November data was late was that the last sitting day in December was actually 12 December, which, unfortunately, the November bulletin was simply not ready for. It often does take that little bit of extra time.

Mr Berry: Do it out of session.

MRS CARNELL: I am very happy to do it out of session, but that is just not the way we have been doing it in the past. That is not a problem. As soon as we sat again, today we have November's and December's information for both hospitals. Members would also be aware that no data for Calvary Hospital was provided by Mr Berry - no quarterly reports; no monthly reports; nothing at all.

Mr Speaker, let us look at the actual information that Mr Berry has required in this motion. The request for the January report at this stage of the month just shows that he simply does not understand what he is asking for. This motion requires January figures to be presented this afternoon. This is only a couple of weeks after the end of the month. Mr Berry, if he knew anything, would know perfectly well that the data comes from various parts of both hospitals and from other parts of Health as well. He would also know that there is not some sort of magic computer in Health that all the information goes into every day and at the end of the month the computer spews it all out. The reality is that doctors and nurses put this together; people who are actually treating patients produce this sort of information. If Mr Berry is suggesting that what we should do is get our doctors and nurses, for the first week or two of each month, to spend their time putting together a report rather than treating patients, I think that is a totally unacceptable situation. If we can produce our monthly data, again something that Mr Berry never did, within four to five weeks of the end of the month - and I am happy to say four weeks, Mr Speaker - then I believe that is a pretty impressive exercise. It is certainly something that, to my knowledge, no other health system in Australia actually produces.

Mr Speaker, the thing that is actually amazing here is that Mr Berry wants quarterly reports that are just monthly reports added up. Why in hell's name we would get people in our Health Department to add up three lots of monthly reports so that Mr Berry could have a quarterly report, I have absolutely no idea. In fact, I think it is important right now to quote from a couple of Mr Berry's statements. I refer to a statement by Mr Berry in this Assembly on 19 June. It was when we were actually talking about the phantom patients. He said:

Mr Speaker, I never provided monthly figures in this place ...

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