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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 11 Hansard (30 November) . . Page.. 3503 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

One of the ways we are attempting to deal with this, I expect, within this coming month, in the next few weeks, is by releasing a draft health services plan which will propose a method of operating so that work is rationalised between the two hospitals. It will be a plan open for discussion.

MR STANHOPE: Thank you, minister. I have a supplementary question. Minister, could you give the Assembly an assurance that the negotiations currently being undertaken and the decisions being made by some VMOs to work at only one or the other hospital are not a direct result of the tendering process that is currently being conducted, with the consequent strengthening position of the VMOs in relation to their ability to pick off one hospital as against the other as a result of the decision not to grant much of the tender to the Canberra Hospital?

MR MOORE: The tendering process-I am sure members will be absolutely delighted with this-has resulted in over 600 patients being able to get surgery that they would not have got otherwise for a long time. The tendering process has delivered an extra 600 operations to category 2 and 3 patients. I very proud of that. I think each member of the Assembly should be very proud that that occurred.

Did it annoy some VMOs? Yes, it did annoy some VMOs. Does that mean that there is going to be an impact on the hospitals? Of course, because we are dealing with contractors. That is what VMOs are. They are contractors, just the same as a plumbing contractor who comes into your home and agrees to do certain work. It is exactly the same with VMOs. They have a contractual arrangement, not with me but with individual hospitals. Each of those VMOs-there may be some exceptions, but I am not aware of any-work at the private hospitals as well, maybe Calvary Private, John James, Lidia Perin and the National Capital Private Hospital. Those contractors, those VMOs, have a whole range of choices. I don't think you should be feeling particularly sorry for a VMO who determines they are not going to work at Canberra Hospital and only have the other hospitals to work at. I assure you that it will not affect their income.

Mr Stanhope: How much more is it costing us?

MR MOORE: Will it have an impact on our waiting lists? Watch this face, Mr Stanhope. When Mr Berry was health minister, the waiting list went up and up and up. It went up at an exponential rate from just over 1,000, as I recall, to something in the order of 4,500. What has happened since Mrs Carnell was health minister and I have been health minister is that lists have come steadily down. There have been a couple of blips.

Mr Berry: Hah, hah!

MR MOORE: Mr Berry laughs. I had just under 5,000 on the waiting list. It is now closer to 4,000, and I am proud of that. As I have said to members, the critical issue is whether these people are having their operations done within the clinically required time. That is the critical issue. It is not happening at the moment, but it is getting better and better, and we are getting closer and closer. It is a constant improvement, and that is what we intend to deliver.

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