Page 2520 - Week 08 - Thursday, 30 June 2005
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There will be reductions in HealthPact sponsorship, which I think is really serious because it shows that there is no commitment by this government to preventive health medicine. If we are ever going to take the pressure off the hospital system, the best way of doing that is by ensuring that the health of Canberrans is the best that we can make it for as long as possible. But no, we do not see that; we do not get that out of this government.
On top of these failings, the committee was then informed that the community care arm of the ACT had failed to obtain full four-year accreditation from the Australian Council of Healthcare Standards. We got partial, two-year, accreditation with a warning to do better. We have also found out that ACT Mental Health is now going through the process. The minister, if he takes his second 10 minutes, might like to update us well and truly on where ACT Mental Health stands.
The waiting lists were an issue again. It is interesting that the May data should have been available 21 days ago. Mr Speaker, earlier this week you referred to a motion of the Assembly in regard to amendments to appropriation bills. I would like to remind the minister that there was a motion on 27 August 2003 about the importance of openness and accountability and the government’s election commitment in making the hospital data available. The motion that was passed is worth reading. It says:
That the government acknowledges the importance of openness and accountability and their election commitment to this end and that this Assembly calls on the government to:
(1) make available to Members, and table in the Assembly as soon as practicable after they are prepared, the “Information Bulletin—Patient Activity Data” and the waiting list figures for the previous month for elective surgery in Canberra’s public hospitals.
It has been somewhat the tradition that they are available around the 21st of the following month. They have been tabled many times on the soonest day after that. It is important that these numbers are available. If the minister has not attended to his duties and if the minister has not been able to do his homework and read his briefs, perhaps we should have a different health minister. But on our about the 21st of the month these numbers have been available for years. Yet again here we are, on 30 June, and we still have not got the May figures. I am sure that if they were a good news story the minister would have them out.
Mr Corbell: That is what you said last time and you were wrong.
MR SMYTH: They were not a good -news story last time; there is a little bit of jiggery-pokery and a little bit of a fiddle there in the middle. The number of 38 that has been taken off the list is the number that the list magically goes down by.
MR SPEAKER: Direct your comments through the chair, Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: We will see when the May lists come out. The important issue, I think for most Canberrans is the public hospital. If you look at the state of our public hospitals report of June 2005, you will see 12 charts that show movement. Eight of the charts
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