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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 6 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 1824 ..

Members interjected.

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I was certainly not reflecting in any way on Ms Tucker's question, which was a very sensible one. I was reflecting on the questions of those opposite over the last few days, which have been ridiculous.

Mr Speaker, when the Government announced its plan to sell Upper Jindalee, in 1995, the issue generated significant debate in the community and within this Assembly. One of the most important reasons for our decision was the fact that the nursing home did not have a good record in providing the residents with the best possible quality of life. The facility was being run largely on a medical model with an overemphasis on hospital-style care and almost no emphasis on providing a homelike environment for the residents.

Mr Berry: That is completely untrue.

MRS CARNELL: Mr Berry says that is totally untrue. I will go on to explain why it is not untrue, Mr Speaker. It is just that Mr Berry, as usual, does not understand the issues. Mr Speaker, I want to emphasise that the nursing care provided under the previous arrangement at Jindalee was of a very high standard. There is no doubt that the nursing care at Jindalee was very good. There is definitely no argument at all about that. But, as everyone who knows anything about nursing homes knows - obviously, not Mr Berry - good nursing care is not the whole equation. In fact, it is only part of the equation.

The other problems, not related to nursing care, were so bad, Mr Speaker, that a monitoring team from the Federal Department of Health and Family Services inspected Upper Jindalee back in 1994. From memory, in 1994 those opposite were in government. The Federal Department of Health and Family Services, then under a Labor government, inspected Upper Jindalee in 1994 and found that the home complied with just two of the 31 standards required of nursing homes. That does not sound really good to me, Mr Speaker. These standards do not cover only the quality of health care provided. They also cover such important objectives - - -

Mr Berry: You just gave up and gave it away.

MR SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister is answering a question.

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, those standards cover such things as freedom of choice and social independence for residents, a homelike environment, privacy and dignity, the variety of experiences that residents should be able to have, and safety. When the operation of Upper Jindalee Nursing Home was taken over by Johnson Village Services in March last year - - -

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