Page 3614 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 21 November 2007
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Mr Hargreaves: Like what?
MR MULCAHY: Well, I will come to that, Mr Hargreaves. The Chief Minister conceded this point on radio on 9 October 2007 when he said, “To get bogged down in a deep debate about, oh well, this is about bed numbers or money really belies perhaps some of the systemic issues that need to be investigated.” They are the words of the Chief Minister. Even he knows that there are significant problems in the administration of the hospital.
Mr Stanhope: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That is a misrepresentation of the position I put in that particular debate.
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! That is not a point of order. Resume your seat.
Mr Stanhope: I was talking about a specific issue. I will respond to it at length during the debate.
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! It may be a debating point. It is not a point of order, Chief Minister.
MR MULCAHY: I urge the Chief Minister to stress this point to his own health minister, who seems continually determined to shift the issue onto the question of hospital beds—anything to avoid talking about the serious management problems with ACT hospitals. Recently the Acting Minister for Health squirmed and interjected somewhat like an angry child when Mrs Burke introduced this bill into the Assembly in October. His sole argument seemed to be the mantra that hospital boards are just another layer of bureaucracy. I do not think he understands the purpose of boards.
Interestingly, last night at a dinner I spoke with a few people who actually initiated discussion on this matter. They were very enthusiastic about the board. Ms Gallagher cited Calvary Hospital and asked the question: what are they doing? Certainly they do not have a local board at each hospital, but they do have a board of directors which deals—in the words last night of a learned scholar in this town—with every single issue and sees it through.
They run efficient operations, and there are lessons to be learnt by the minister from that structure. Ms Gallagher would have us believe that you do not have boards on companies. We have them on territory owned corporations and the like, and they are there for a purpose. Sometimes they work and sometimes they do not. But mostly they do work. Certainly, in terms of health care, there is a strong and compelling argument to have a board in place to ensure that issues are addressed properly and by people who have a front-line involvement and interest in these matters acting on behalf of all the participants involved, rather than letting them be buried by the bureaucracy and left to the minister to try and step in when she has the courage to do so.
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