Page 5809 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 7 December 2011
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parties. If there is significant disagreement between the parties about what should happen, there is a separate section of the agreement which goes through how that is to be followed, a process for resolution and also a process to extinguish the agreements if that is the end result.
I would say that, from my dealings with the Calvary Heath Care board through the negotiation of these agreements, I think that would be unlikely. The agreements are framed in the words of collaboration and cooperation and the parties having an equal say about the services that are provided from that site. I think that it would be unusual for us to have to use those clauses, but they are there for both parties if there is some unforeseen event on the horizon that the current agreements do not allow the resolution of.
Calvary Public Hospital—emergency department
MR HANSON: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, the ACT emergency department report card August 2011, which you released on 30 November, shows that the performance of the Calvary emergency department has declined relative to the performance of the Canberra Hospital since 2008. Minister, in 2008 you began your negotiations for the purchase of Calvary hospital. Will you apologise to the residents of the north of Canberra and to the staff of Calvary for the decline in Calvary hospital emergency department results following the turbulence of the last three years?
MS GALLAGHER: I do not know who is writing Mr Hanson’s questions but they are getting worse every question time. Yesterday it was about the Rebels and today it is to try and say that negotiations between the board and the government have actually affected what goes on in an emergency department. How ridiculous is that! It obviously shows that Mr Hanson has absolutely no idea about how hospitals actually manage operational issues.
The Calvary hospital emergency department, over the course of the negotiations, has had increased resources put in there. There is a question—and we can almost identify the month where it happened. I think it is only in the past year actually, not back in 2008, that the Calvary emergency department has declined. From the initial advice to me—
Mr Smyth interjecting—
MS GALLAGHER: Thanks for your helpful interjection, Mr Smyth—as usual, wrong—
Mr Smyth interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Mr Smyth, thank you.
MS GALLAGHER: As usual, wrong. We can pinpoint it back to about May—
Opposition members interjecting—
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