Page 127 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
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picked out, are factually correct and that they are listed in the audit report. I also acknowledge that the current policy is not being implemented as it should and the people who suffer are consumers. But statistics and waiting times do not in themselves tell the whole story. There is a much bigger picture that Mr Hanson has not picked up on or reflected truthfully in his motion.
I agree that the statistics for elective surgery are not positive and I am concerned about the impact this is having on those patients that are waiting for elective surgery. Without good health, a person’s quality of life is significantly diminished, and waiting to have surgery can be an incredibly painful experience, not just physically but emotionally. So I concur with the statements made that the waiting list does require improvements.
The question we must address is why Mr Hanson, I believe, has purported that there is a conspiracy theory behind this and that the department is doctoring people’s classifications in order to make the waiting list look better. The Greens do not agree with this conspiracy theory and there is no evidence to suggest that this is the case.
I understand that operating theatres are not being managed efficiently. The Auditor-General has advised that ACT Health is doing some good reviews on this area and acknowledged in a briefing with Mr Hanson and me that this was the case. The Auditor-General also advised that she believed that the Department of Health was taking the findings and recommendations from her report very seriously and that the minister had committed to the recommendations and invited further audits of the issues in the future.
There is, however, an elephant in the room that we have not yet adequately discussed, and that is the manner in which some doctors contribute to or indeed cause longer waiting times for patients. This has not been addressed by the audit because it is outside its remit and has not been mentioned by Mr Hanson, not once.
Over the past year, I have had conversations with key stakeholders and received briefings on the issue of the waiting list, which has included joint briefings with Mr Hanson. This included the Auditor-General and the head of surgery at the Canberra Hospital.
I do not wish to disclose comments made by particular parties as their confidentiality must be respected. However, in summary, experts both internal and external have put it to me that one of the key problems is some of the private doctors in that they are not willing to share their patients, even if they are unable or unwilling to perform a surgery within the required time. I am not saying this is the case with all doctors—and indeed it is not—or that it is the only cause of problems with the elective surgery waiting list but I have been told that some doctors are not being fair to their patients and that a key way to improve the elective surgery waiting list is to enforce a shared list between doctors.
Other issues that have been raised include that some patients cannot have their time category met because doctors book in more patients than they are able to service within their operating hours. Taking leave and not passing on patients or having too
many patients are not recorded as clinical reasons. Doctors list more patients as
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