Page 1043 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 16 March 2005
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I have also seen some figures—we all do polling major; political parties do; the paper occasionally does—and I do not think you have to be Einstein to see that the greatest single area of concern in the ACT is in relation to the health system. And the greatest single area of concern with this government is the way it has handled the health system. It is first by a country mile in terms of things that really concern the average person in the community.
I will give some figures now. Point (b) in Mr Smyth’s motion states that the average number of admissions per month to the elective surgery waiting list has reduced since 2001. The minister can go into every possible contortion he wants to, but the clear facts have been set out in the yearly figures for new patients added to the waiting lists. If we look at the additions, as a monthly average, we see a number of things. For the patients listed, that is, new patients added to the waiting list, the average for 2004 at Canberra Hospital was 494; at Calvary, it was 401; a total of 895. For 2003, it was 461 at Canberra Hospital; at Calvary, 402. For 2002, it was 472 at Canberra Hospital; 401 at Calvary. In 2001, it was 531 at Canberra Hospital; 339 at Calvary. In 2000, it was 544 at Canberra Hospital; 389 at Calvary. The total under Labor averaged out at 477 at Canberra Hospital; and, at Calvary, 396. Under the Liberals it was 544 and 369.
There is a difference there. Under Labor it is an average of 878; under the previous Liberal government, 913. This bears out the point Mr Smyth has been making perfectly. The average number of additions per month to the elective surgery waiting list has in fact reduced since 2001—not by a lot. I think Mr Smyth actually had the good grace to say it was static. It is a bit worse than static; it has actually reduced by a number. That, I think, is a very, very telling point, and the minister can try to explain that away as best he can but he has a problem.
Similarly, when you look at the average number of patients treated over that same period, at both the Canberra Hospital and Calvary Hospital, it is, under Labor, 670 since they have been in, over the term of the government to date; and, under the previous Liberal government, 704. Again, more patients were treated under the Liberals than Labor. So again I think that just makes very much a mockery of what Mr Corbell has been saying.
Then you look at some of the figures, some of the more recent problems we have had with the system—the oncology clinic, the cancer clinic at Calvary Hospital. I understand that clinic—and it should concern any member who represents anyone on the north side—is no longer seeing new patients. They are being transferred to Woden. I also understand from staff there that there is some concern that Woden may not have the necessary ability and resources to actually treat those patients to the standard that they were treated. I think, largely, it is a resourcing problem. It seems there that the aim is actually to dispense with that clinic after the current batch of patients is finally treated at Calvary. For members’ information, that clinic does such things as chemotherapy treatment and the like. So that is just a recent example of a cutback in services
We have a budget that has gone up over 30 per cent. Where is the money going? We heard a story today in the Canberra Times of an elderly gentleman who had about six attempts to have an operation on his lungs actually cancelled. Unfortunately when it
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