Page 952 - Week 03 - Thursday, 10 March 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
MR HANSON: I was hoping for a bit more of an accurate answer. Minister, if we have, as you say, sufficient hospital beds—unequivocally enough hospital beds—
MADAM SPEAKER: Preamble.
MR HANSON: why was the ACT bed occupancy target increased to 90 per cent, which is considered less safe by the AMA?
MR CORBELL: Bed occupancy is driven by a range of features. Effective utilisation of beds will be a very important part of managing demand in our hospital system moving forward. Certainly, the analysis that I have seen undertaken—and the advice from the Health Directorate confirms—is that we can continue to see improved utilisation of existing bed numbers without compromising on quality care. So we remain very focused on doing that. I note the AMA’s views on what is an appropriate level of bed occupancy. We do not always agree with the AMA, and we do not on this occasion. They are of course an advocacy body for doctors, but they are not managers of public hospital systems. So we have due regard to the views of stakeholders such as the AMA, but we do not always agree.
The work that we are undertaking ensures that we have effective bed utilisation. In the most recent months, the government has implemented a range of further reforms to improve bed utilisation in our public hospital system to reduce the delays in seeing people admitted, for example, from the emergency department into public hospital wards. That has involved centralisation of bed management arrangements and improving flows of patients from areas such as the ED into the hospital proper, and that will remain a key focus for us.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mrs Jones.
MRS JONES: Minister, why did the government this term change the way in which bed occupancy is measured, now making the Health Directorate’s performance data look better?
MR CORBELL: The government remains committed to an average overnight bed occupancy rate of 90 per cent and we are tracking at that rate right now. This is not an uncommon level of bed occupancy or bed utilisation across the Australian states and territories. We remain committed to continuing to improve bed occupancy rates—
Mr Hanson: Point of order, Madam Speaker.
MR CORBELL: Bed occupancy figures—
MADAM SPEAKER: Sit down, please, Mr Corbell. Stop the clock, please.
Mr Hanson: It is a point of order on relevance. The question was: why did the government actually change the way that the bed occupancy rates in the ACT are calculated, which then made the data look better—rather than the answer that the minister is giving. It does not go to that.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video