Page 1509 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 June 2007
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
damaged eardrum, when in Queensland they would expect to wait—how many days?—60 days.
This is a simple indication that the ACT is not performing well against other jurisdictions. It also seems that performance and efficiency gains are not occurring in other areas of the system—for example, with acute care, labour costs or the emergency department, none of which I think the minister has denied to date.
The Hospital statistics 2005-2006 report, assembled and released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, one of Australia’s pre-eminent research and technical health information and commentary bodies, is the latest in a series of disciplined and standardised snapshots of health services and business delivery effectiveness. There are key words there: “delivery effectiveness”.
The territory is bound by a cooperative approach by all jurisdictions in increasing transparency and good governance for the health service industry. The approach is one of the primary steps towards better health business and affordable services across the complex spectrum of modern medicine and the dynamic health needs of the people of Canberra. Every state government faces the challenge of swiftly tailoring health services to meet the demands of the health client base. We must counter the associated complexity of health technology with its long lead times and staff learning and development challenges.
The question remains: why does Canberra continue to fail to deliver where others have succeeded? The AIHW report recounts that, for yet another year, our hospital system continues to fall behind the standards set by the rest of the nation. From the outset, Canberra’s basic infrastructure falls behind national trends—3.4 beds per 1,000 head of population compared to 4.0 beds in other states. One could for hours recite complex technical statistics contained in the report and cite Canberra’s low rating, but this will do nothing to fix the problem.
Effective initiatives that re-engineer health services are the direction required by government to increase health service delivery outcomes. Why is it that, regardless of the burgeoning health expenditure, Canberra’s health rating is so rapidly and consistently declining? Why is it that other state health systems with larger population bases and more challenging cost issues maintain or improve ratings? Why is it that the Stanhope government lacks the health planning capacity and foresight to turn the abysmal situation around here in Canberra? I am sure the minister is going to be able to answer all these questions for me, absolutely perfectly.
When elective surgery lists grow to the mammoth proportions of those in the ACT, we must acknowledge the impacts this has on the people of Canberra. These are not just numbers; we are talking about people and the impacts that this bad situation we have in the ACT are having on the people of Canberra. For example, basic questions are asked. “What might happen to me and my family while I wait up to 379 days for a hysterectomy?” “What might happen to my job while I wait up to 239 days for prostate surgery?” “How will my father cope with everything while my mother waits up to 149 days for a hip replacement?”
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .