Page 336 - Week 01 - Thursday, 16 February 2012
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Mr Hanson: Not very convincing at all.
MS GALLAGHER: That is the answer. I do not really care if it is not convincing to you. That is the answer. That is the requirement under national health reform—percentage seen on time. That is in our quarterly performance report. That is what is going to be the target. That is some of the measure of the performance overall. That will give a much better picture.
But the work being done nationally is to get agreement across every jurisdiction, because no jurisdiction will provide information about how they manage their waiting list because it is open then, I think, to decisions that might be different across jurisdictions that provide a better reflection of the performance of their systems.
I do not know if agreement will be reached nationally but work is underway at health ministers meetings acknowledging that there is no standard practice of management of waiting lists. In the ACT we lead the way in terms of how we manage our waiting lists and how we report. I do not believe that the standards we apply here are followed in other jurisdictions.
MR HANSON: Supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Hanson.
MR HANSON: Minister, how much funding will the ACT risk if it does not meet future elective surgery performance benchmarks set by the federal government?
MS GALLAGHER: I will take that question on notice because there are different agreements within national health reform. But we are very confident that we will meet the targets as set out in the agreement.
MR SMYTH: A supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: Minister, why does the ACT continue to have the highest median wait time for elective surgery and why has our performance deteriorated so badly under this government?
MS GALLAGHER: Our performance has not deteriorated under this government and I would go and draw the member’s attention to the numbers on the waiting list in 2001 and the population of the ACT then. When compared to the waiting list now, as a percentage of the population, our waiting list now is lower.
Mr Hanson: On a point of order, the question was not about the number of people on waiting lists. The question was specifically about the median waiting time and why that has deteriorated. It would indicate that it has deteriorated from 40 days to 76 days under this government. It is about the median wait time, that is the question, not about the number of people on waiting lists.
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