Page 3699 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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MR STANHOPE: Isn’t it? What a pity. I will do it later.
Mr Doszpot: No doubt you’re going to tell me what my views are, like Mr Barr—
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MR STANHOPE: I will table your views, Mr Doszpot. I am happy to table Mr Doszpot’s stated views, if that would bring you comfort. But in the context of the question, I must say, Mr Doszpot, that I will have to take advice on the question of the existence of another report that is relevant. I do not know what you mean—in the last year or in the last 20 years? I will have to take advice on whether or not that particular company has produced any other reports on TAMS in the history of TAMS. I am more than happy to do that, and I am more than happy, when I have that base information, to get back to you. And I will, Mr Speaker, in due deference to you, and with a desire not to be disorderly, inform the Assembly at a later hour this day of Mr Doszpot’s views on the banning of fireworks.
Health services—Norway and Denmark
MS BURCH: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, earlier this month you travelled overseas to look at comparative health systems in Norway and Denmark. Can you please update the Assembly on the details and findings of this visit?
MS GALLAGHER: In the week from 8 August to 16 August, I led a small delegation to Norway and Denmark to study and learn the developments in e-health technologies and health facility design.
Assembly members are aware that the ACT government, with the support of the ACT Assembly, has committed to a billion-dollar rebuild of the public healthcare system and that this work has already commenced. One of the key features of the capital asset development program is for the early adoption of e-health technologies and integration of these into our forward development program. It is for this reason that this Assembly has recently appropriated $90 million in the last budget for the early establishment of e-health technology, which will underpin the health system and be an integral feature in the overall rebuild of our facilities here in the ACT.
Members may know that Norway and Denmark are two of the most advanced nations in the world in health facility design and the use of cutting edge e-health technology. Denmark, in fact, boasts the world’s oldest and best developed personal electronic health record system. Norway has the world’s two most technologically enabled and best designed public hospitals. There is nothing at all like them in Australia or, for that matter, anywhere else across the world. I had the opportunity to visit, inspect in detail and meet with the leaders and developers of both these magnificent facilities.
I visited two university hospitals in Norway, Akershus in Oslo and St Olavs in Trondheim. Both are large, state-of-the-art health facilities serving similar sized communities to the ACT. They have highly developed technology, are totally patient-centred and show the value of good long-term planning, integration of technology and sustainability built in from the outset.
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