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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 06 Hansard (Tuesday, 22 June 2004) . . Page.. 2336 ..

Over the last three years, we’ve funded our hospitals to meet the growth in demand for services such as interventional cardiology, cancer services, renal services and emergency department care. We’ve funded increases in the cost of technology.

Hospitals are resource intensive, and new drugs and implants can be a major drain on budgets. Over the last two years we have put in additional funds to meet these growing costs. We’ve funded additional registrars to reduce the pressure on our young doctors and to improve the level of and access to care at our hospitals. Our investment in our public hospitals has been accelerated in the 2004-2005 budget. We will fund an additional three intensive-care beds at the Canberra Hospital at a cost of almost $12 million over the next four years. These will provide much-needed additional capacity for our hospitals and recognise the continued evolution of the Canberra Hospital into a major national teaching and trauma centre.

The establishment of the ANU medical school will further enhance this reputation but, more importantly, it will provide a vibrant learning community that will ensure that the people of the ACT have access to the latest and best that the medical field has to offer. The $17 million provided over the next four years for additional general surgeons will improve rosters and increase access to general surgery services. This investment in improving this vital workforce area is a sign of our commitment to improving hospital services.

All of us would be aware of the concerns faced by people who are dealing with cancer. The last thing you need at that time is to be told that you need to wait for services. It is welcoming to note that, during a time of worldwide shortages, the ACT has been able to increase the number of radiation therapists from 21.5 to 23, which includes a clinical educator for the supervision of trainee radiotherapists. We have also established three positions for trainee radiotherapists to complete their professional development year. This is against the background of a national and international shortage of radiation therapists and radiation oncologists and is the result of concerted efforts by the Canberra Hospital to attract and retain radiation oncology staff. Waiting time for oncology patients in all categories is dropping.

We have tripled the number of breast-care nurses in the ACT that provide valuable support and follow-up after surgery. Since providing a single breast-care nurse position with Commonwealth funding three years ago, the ACT now funds three positions from its own budget—another success story with real impacts on the lives of many Canberrans.

The 2004-2005 budget provides $3 million over the next four years to increase the allied health work force at our public hospitals. Allied health staff provide valuable after-care that is essential for the full recovery of most people who attend our hospitals. This funding will increase the access to these services, which will result in better health and lifestyle outcomes for our public hospital patients.

I could go on. I won’t go over the additional resources that we’re putting into elective surgery and additional capacity that the minister has already noted. But I can understand why Mr Smyth is having trouble trying to keep up with the initiatives that ACT Labor has funded for our public health system.

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