Page 145 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010
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Although we did have the somewhat premature opening of a new operating theatre, which I will note, I certainly hope that once this new theatre is fully operational it will have an impact on waiting times. With this additional funding going to address waiting lists for elective surgery in particular, we would expect, however, to see continual improvements in the next couple of years. It would be a matter of concern if we did not see an improvement. Government would have to justify this investment and look to where they are going to offer further solutions.
We have also discussed the Productivity Commission report stating that the ACT has the lowest number of public dentists of any jurisdiction. This is concerning and is something which we need to investigate further. Dental care is often one of the more neglected areas of our health system; people do not always recognise the importance of dental care. However, dental care affects many other areas of a person’s health, including nutrition. I note that there was a federal policy announcement in this area—that the now federal Labor government would establish a national dental health scheme if elected. However, we are yet to see anything delivered by the federal Labor government on this.
I also note that it was a federal-state-territory funded area but that the Howard Liberal government withdrew federal funding and did leave the states and territories with quite a massive hole in their dental public care. So both those points need to be noted. I would appreciate an update from the minister about what is within the territory government’s responsibility in this area and what it can do to address and improve this area.
We have also discussed the bulk-billing rates in the ACT and we do know that we have the lowest bulk-billing rate in the country. It has been a much discussed issue over the last few months. Much of the blame for this situation does actually lie with the federal government and the funding models they have pursued. The system of Medicare rebates and the resulting red tape and required paperwork has lent itself to the growth of large corporate practices or to smaller practices moving away from bulk-billing.
The classification of the ACT as a metropolitan rather than a regional area also disadvantages us. This is something I would hope both our Labor and Liberal federal representatives for the ACT are lobbying on, but I have to say I have not heard anything public on this from either party. We in the ACT can tinker around the edges, but until the reported extra GPs that we have heard about come online in several years, and until we have a changed funding model at the federal level, this is a problem that is going to continue, and we do need to acknowledge that.
The Productivity Commission report also has data on the number of public hospital beds per capita. This is an issue that goes to the very heart of the capital asset development program and also, obviously, the Calvary debate, which we will be addressing later today in the chamber. I am concerned about initial views that have been expressed in Mr Hanson’s health discussion paper that the Liberals would like to see a greater focus on private health. This would lead to a greater decrease in public health beds and would have an impact on surgery waiting times.
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