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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 6 Hansard (1 September) . . Page.. 1717 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

Mr Stanhope also raised the issue of a bypass. I hear the word "bypass" used particularly with reference to Calvary Hospital. When it goes on bypass, people go to the Canberra Hospital. Generally, I do not think most of us have much difficulty with that. They are located relatively closely and the most sensible treatment is delivered. The Canberra Hospital technically does not go on bypass as such. It goes on stable patient redirection. I think it is important to emphasise this. That is why I interjected earlier. We are using the same language. I understand the language. I am not trying to resile from that but it is important to emphasise that a patient does get stabilised and then moved to another area. Patients may either come from the region and be redirected to other hospitals or come from the ACT and be redirected to an appropriate hospital after they have been stabilised. The reason for this is that we have long waiting lists for elective surgery. We can either allow those elective surgery waiting lists and waiting times for people to get longer or we can try to make sure that the hospital is working to capacity at all times.

When you push the hospital to work at capacity, it means that if an emergency happens the capacity to deal with it is reduced. The particular bottleneck I identified earlier is the intensive care unit. I do not resile from the fact that it is a problem. The hospital is conducting a review to determine the appropriate level of intensive care to ensure that we do not have this bottleneck. I am waiting for the outcomes of that review.

Mr Stanhope also raised the issue of surgical equipment. He asked a very good question about hospital management. What would have happened if there had been no incentives money? I must say that I have asked the same question as you. I think very poor management has led to such a run-down of equipment that there has to be an injection of millions of dollars. I have been assured by hospital management that we now have systems in place to ensure that equipment is replaced as it wears out so that we do not get into that circumstance again.

A related issue that Mr Stanhope raised was about Totalcare. My recollection is that Totalcare said at the Estimates Committee that they had not bought any new sterilising equipment. It has not been paid for through Medicare, to the best of my knowledge. Mr Stanhope may need to pursue that further with the Chief Minister or I can seek more information for him if he wants it.

The final issue Mr Stanhope raised was about the land swap and the hospice on Acton Peninsula. I suppose he should also ask Mr Berry why it was that when he negotiated the lease on the hospice it was only a five-year lease. I imagine the answer is the very logical one - Mr Berry may choose to stand and correct me - that that was the best he could negotiate at the time. My guess is that he would have preferred a much longer lease, but that is what it is. I think I answered a question on it, but the Chief Minister has written asking for clarification.

I would like to say to Mr Wood and to other members of the Assembly that in the last three months I have not been able to make services in Community Care perfect. I know that if you came into government you would be able to make them perfect in a very short time. Nobody else has ever been able to do it, but that may be the case.

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