Page 3333 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 14 November 2007
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There is a lot of work to be done in the health system. There is no such thing as a health system that does not occasionally fail. Anyone who stands here and says they could deliver a health system that never has a problem would not be telling the truth. We are dealing with sick people, often presenting with complex scenarios, and the hospital does everything it can to deal with their situations. But, from time to time, there will be problems. As I said, when we have problems, the system needs to respond to that. It does not respond in the Assembly chamber; it responds through the processes that are established in the health system to deal with them. For example, I refer to the case that has come before the Assembly a number of times in relation to OMFS. That needs to go through the processes at the hospital. That will not be dealt with in the Assembly, and it is not appropriate for it to be dealt with in the Assembly. It needs to be dealt with—
Mrs Burke: It has been going on for six years.
MS GALLAGHER: It has been going on for much longer than that, Mrs Burke, and you know it. You know that.
Mrs Burke: The blame game.
MS GALLAGHER: These are the processes that we have set up. Mrs Burke had a comprehensive briefing the day before yesterday on the processes that have been put in place to deal with concerns relating to medical professionals and concerns relating to patient experience. They have been firmly established since the neurosurgery issues, which we all know about, arose. They relate to clinical review committees and clinical privileges committees. There are processes that appropriately deal with concerns around the health system. As I said, there are a number of public forums. We stand here ready to respond. There is just simply no need for an inquiry like this, Mr Stefaniak. You have not been able to justify it. You have not got any proof of your concerns. Every time—
Mrs Burke: Ask the community.
Mr Stefaniak: We’re giving it to you, Katy.
MS GALLAGHER: Well, the satisfaction rate in the hospital has never been higher. I am not saying that you will not be able to walk in here and read an email from someone who has not had a good experience in the hospital. We know that happens. I get the emails. You did not read the bit out in that email about how you had not responded to him, I notice—that bit about “Mr Stefaniak, why didn’t you reply to me when I sent this to you?” You just cut that bit off the email. I get those emails; I get them, too. And what we need to do is look at those experiences and respond to them.
An inquiry like this will not address those issues. What you are trying to do is create a scandal where a scandal does not exist. If you had proof that there were significant problems in the health system, you would, no doubt, be providing that proof, probably not to me, but to the media. You have not been able to do that. We have a very good public health system, and I will not have it talked down. The performance indicators
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