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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 4087 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

strategic development. That particular position replaces one of the jobs that were abolished during the restructure, and to that extent the claim that the Leader of the Opposition has made in relation to the $2 million being extra is, of course, erroneous. One of the positions is simply a replacement of the job that became vacant on the separation away from the portfolio of disabilities. So it is essentially a vacant position that has been redesigned.

The position will focus on setting and achieving strategic goals in health. It is vital in moving health away from, really, the short-termism which characterised the purchaser/provider system which was so seriously commented on and reported on by Michael Reid in his report on health service delivery, which was the basis of the restructure in the first place.

The second position is a new position. It is the position of executive coordinator, territory-wide services, and it is the embodiment of both the Reid report and this government's commitment to building networks between service providers and arranging health services better to meet the needs of consumers. At the heart of the Reid report in relation to health service delivery in the ACT was the need for far greater coordination and collaboration. To the extent that there was a major criticism of health structures within the ACT, it was around a lack of collegiality, a lack of cooperation and a lack of cohesion. That went to the heart of the report and was the basis of the restructuring which we have undertaken.

This seems to me eminently sensible, in the face of the major criticisms that were made of the system-a system that certainly was under severe strain, and with a departmental structure that is required to operate in what is, I think, one of the most testing areas of administration that any government faces anywhere in Australia, if not the world; namely, the delivery of an affordable, universal health system for all its citizens. That is what this particular position is charged with achieving.

I think we need to acknowledge that, if we are to achieve efficiencies across the system, they will come through greater collaboration and great cohesion. We have two major public hospitals in the ACT, in the Canberra Hospital and Calvary Hospital. We need always to look at the efficiencies that can be gained through greater collaboration, not just within the public system but between the public system and the private system. There are some big issues there. For instance, in relation to pathology service delivery, an issue that we have moved on recently, we have to ensure that we achieve the efficiencies that can be gained from a coordinated system-and not just the efficiencies, but also the quality of health care delivery.

Of course, this applies in a whole range of other areas. I heard Mr Smyth comment on this in his speech this morning on the legislation that we passed today to make a fact of the restructure. Referring to psychiatric services, he mentioned the need for us to ensure, in relation to all of those services where there is a service provider at Calvary and a service provider at Canberra Hospital, that we do gain the greatest efficiencies we can. And, yes, there was a reduction in some beds at Calvary Hospital, but it was a reduction that was done in a coordinated, planned way so as to in fact enhance service delivery in relation to psychiatric and mental health services. It has achieved that, and will continue to achieve efficiencies and a greater provision of services to people with a mental illness in the ACT.

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