Page 2950 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 16 October 2007
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remarks today on other evidence; that is, reports that I have received directly from constituents of where the public hospital system is failing.
In many ways, although it is disheartening to read the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s report—and that one in particular is Australian hospital statistics 2005-06 which shows that, for example, ACT residents can expect to wait almost twice as long as the national average for elective surgery or that only 52 per cent of people presenting themselves to an emergency room are seen on time—it is the concerns, particularly the human side of complaints that constituents present to me, that really make one understand just how bad are some people’s experiences in our hospitals. Whilst we can talk here of statistics, dollars and hospital beds and speak in the abstract, it is when you start hearing of the cases such as the tragedy we heard of a little over a week ago that it brings home to you that the actions and the decisions taken in this place are, in fact, very real in terms of their impact on ordinary people’s lives.
People have often said to me, “Why would you not have gone into the federal parliament? You have had a background that is more relevant to federal matters and so forth.” I said that the significant thing that is lost on many people is that what happens in the ACT Assembly has far more impact on your life, quite frankly, on a day-to-day basis than many of the things that happen at the national level, because it is here that the decisions in relation to health, education, policing and urban infrastructure are largely determined as a result of legislative decision or budget allocations, which ultimately then are the responsibility of the elected government.
Most clearly, the public hospital system, under the responsibility of the territory government, is one vital area which must be a matter of concern to all elected representatives because of the most serious impact that poor management can have on the wellbeing of the people that we represent. Seeing numbers in a lengthy report is one thing but hearing from constituents, for example, that they have waited for hours in the emergency department is another thing entirely.
I will say at the outset that, in discussing these concerns, I do not intend to reflect on the capability of the individuals working in the system. I have the utmost respect for nurses and doctors and other medical professionals and the work that they do and their commitment to helping members of society when they are at their most vulnerable. But my issues today relate to the environment in which they operate, the resources which they are supplied and the systems that are in place, which inevitably leads to problems for those in the front line of medical care and the delivery of medical care. And in defence of my colleague Mrs Burke, time and time again that has been her issue. Her issue has not been with the dedication of nursing staff and medical staff. But if you tie people’s hands behind their backs, if you let things deteriorate because you are cutting costs, if you ignore the concerns expressed by people who have practical, online and front-line experience, then you are inviting a problem.
It is a fundamental feature of good management to talk to those who have the direct contact with the customers. You should do it with your staff in terms of their dealings with electors because quite often they are the ones who first speak with the constituent. And ministers and senior bureaucrats and the like need to get themselves down and
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