Page 1659 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 13 May 2015
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(b) UCPH will be a new innovative approach to healthcare in the ACT focused entirely on sub-acute healthcare;
(c) UCPH will provide 140 inpatient beds and 75 day beds, which is in line with information provided to the Assembly on 26 February 2013 by the then Minister for Health;
(d) on 26 March 2013 the then Minister for Health responded to the Leader of the Opposition’s question taken on notice stating that based on UCPH planning, that facility will be able to “take up to 200 beds, there will be capacity for 166 overnight inpatient beds in 2017-2018”;
(e) key services will include general and adult mental health rehabilitation, identified aged care services and inpatient units, admitted day services and outpatient services;
(f) UCPH will be a teaching facility, allowing it to extend the scope of existing teaching partnerships and enabling joint clinical training, teaching and research opportunities between the University of Canberra and ACT Health; and
(g) the need for increased facilities for sub and non-acute health services in the ACT was concurrently identified from the development of the draft ACT Rehabilitation and Aged Care Plan, the National Partnership Agreement on Improving Public Hospital Services and the National Partnership Agreement for Hospital and Health Workforce Reform; and
(2) calls on:
(a) the Government to proceed with the development and construction of UCPH.”.
The development of the University of Canberra public hospital reflects service planning that has been extended over a five-year period. It forms part of this Labor government’s response to the development of a health infrastructure program to meet projected service demand. As with any planning process over an extended period of time, the government has been diligent through its review and update of its planning, always considering the current and future context in which this facility will operate.
Let me give some history, Madam Speaker. The initial concept of a subacute hospital was first flagged in 2011. At that time, to increase overall bed numbers across the ACT, it was identified that the new facility would contribute 200 beds but it was yet to be determined what the type and make-up of those beds would be.
Further planning has since helped us to shape what this bed capacity should look like, including the assessments of Associate Professor Christopher Poulos, the Hammond Chair in Positive Ageing and Care at the University of New South Wales School of Public Health and Community Medicine, work completed with the national partnership agreement on improving public hospital services, and work undertaken as part of the national partnership agreement for hospital and health service reform.
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