Page 204 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 28 November 2012

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(vi) safety concerns after code blue procedures failed; and

(vii) concerns raised by staff of high stress and poor morale; and

(2) calls on the Minister for Health to:

(a) ensure that the review into the Centenary Hospital is conducted by an individual or organisation independent of the ACT Government;

(b) circulate to Members the terms of reference for the review as soon as they are finalised;

(d) make a statement to the Assembly explaining what she is currently doing to address the concerns raised by doctors, nurses and patients.

Mr Assistant Speaker, at the outset let me say I am very happy to have retained the health portfolio. It is perhaps the biggest and most important portfolio in terms of budgetary impact and impact on our community and it is also the portfolio perhaps most poorly managed by this government. That is not to say that other portfolios have not been subject to some shocking maladministration by this government.

The election is over but, predictably, the problems that plague our health system remain. The new Centenary hospital is one such problem and is a fiasco entirely of the minister’s making. In fact, it is a symbol for so many of the projects that we see from this Labor government and an example of the poor administration of the health system by Katy Gallagher. It is so bad the minister has ordered a review into her own botched project. I think you know that things are bad when a government is reviewing itself. No doubt her intent is to conduct an internal review that will be limited in scope and will not answer some of the tough questions that need to be answered, questions like: why is a brand new $110 million hospital already full? Why is it late, in fact so late that it is not going to be completed until perhaps next year? Why is it over budget, in fact tens of millions of dollars over budget? Why was the hospital based on a flawed model that has resulted in mothers being pushed out only six hours after giving birth? Why did the minister ignore the advice of experts and, in this case, particularly the Australian Nursing Federation? Why was the hospital opened with safety flaws that nearly resulted in at least one baby being seriously injured by bits of the building falling apart and another baby when a code blue failed? Why have doctors warned that capacity constraints may compromise patient safety? Why has staff morale plummeted, with midwives and doctors terribly upset, under enormous pressure and horribly stressed?

The problems with this new hospital are significant and they are serious and mothers and staff are currently suffering as a result of this fiasco. Let me quote from a number of media articles that highlight this appalling situation. I will quote from the ABC from 16 November:

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