Page 3859 - Week 12 - Thursday, 29 October 2015
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year. Minister, did you intentionally delay the release of these quarterly reports to avoid scrutiny of Canberra’s hospital emergency departments’ continuing poor results or, if it was for another reason, what was the reason for the delay?
MR CORBELL: No, I did not; absolutely not. In terms of delay, yes, there were some communication failures within the directorate that resulted in the delay. Those have since been rectified.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mr Hanson.
MR HANSON: Minister, will you commit to releasing all ACT Health quarterly reports on time from now on?
MR CORBELL: It remains the government’s practice to release those reports in a timely manner and, yes, that is my intention.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mrs Jones.
MRS JONES: Minister, will reports next year be released on time, in the lead-up to the election?
MR CORBELL: We will continue with our quarterly reporting.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mrs Jones.
MRS JONES: Minister, why were ED waiting times for ACT hospitals worse in the 2015 March quarter than the previous year?
MR CORBELL: A range of factors impacts on waiting time performance in the ED. These, I think, are well understood. The first is in terms of an overall increase in the number of presentations. Members opposite would be aware that the number of presentations to the emergency department continues to grow at a significant rate, well above the population growth rate, and that is putting significant pressures on our ED. That is why the government is increasing the capacity of the ED. An extra 1,000 square metres of floor space is currently being constructed as well as a complete reconfiguration of the ED to provide for better patient flows through the department and to increase the total number of beds available by approximately 30 per cent. That is what we are doing to grow capacity in the ED.
The other factor, of course, in terms of waiting time is patient flows from the ED through into the hospital as a whole. The government is undertaking a significant body of reform work right now that is identifying how we can improve patient flows. I will have more to say about that in due course.
Transport—light rail
MR COE: My question is to the Minister for Capital Metro. Minister, the ACT government yesterday publically released DAs for the tram. Minister, will traffic lanes be removed on London Circuit to make way for tram tracks?
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