Page 1585 - Week 05 - Thursday, 5 May 2016
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Service returns from a period of extended leave. During their clinical revalidation, the authority to practise for that member may be amended from independent to supervised practice for a period of three months to ensure that the member’s clinical skills and knowledge are up to date.
An officer’s scope of practice may also be suspended or amended where an adverse clinical incident, patient death, has occurred and the Ambulance Service needs to undertake a robust quality review of the case. During this period, the member’s authority to practise may, with due consideration, be amended or withdrawn. Amending or suspending a member’s scope of practice is not a disciplinary measure, and is solely concerned with enhancing public safety by ensuring that the Chief Officer is satisfied that a member of the Ambulance Service has the necessary skills and abilities to safely and properly provide clinical care to the community.
Finally, I turn to establishing the ACT Ambulance Service quality assurance committee. The amendments in the bill allow ambulance officers to freely discuss the circumstances surrounding a negative patient outcome without fear that admissions made to the committee will be disclosed to a court or other investigating body, systemic weaknesses will be able to be identified and protocols developed to avoid reoccurrences. This will benefit the broader community by supporting the provision of the highest quality ambulance services.
In presenting this bill, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the members of the Emergency Services Agency, including our firefighters, our paramedics, the Rural Fire Service, SES volunteers and support staff, for their input. Their sustained efforts to help protect and serve the people of Canberra are highly valued by the government. The government is committed to ensuring that these members have the resources and the legal authority available to best do their job effectively. This bill forms an important part of meeting that commitment.
I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Smyth) adjourned to the next sitting.
Public Accounts—Standing Committee
Printing, publication and circulation of reports
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (11.19): I move:
That, in relation to reports of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts to be tabled in the Assembly, if the Assembly is not sitting when the committee has completed its inquiry into a referred Auditor-General report or any other inquiry, the Committee may send its report to the Speaker, or, in the absence of the Speaker, to the Deputy Speaker, who is authorised to give directions for its printing, publication and circulation.
Madam Deputy Speaker, as you would know, given you are on the committee, the committee is very busy. We are also aware that the Auditor-General is very busy and she intends to table some four reports, I think it is, by the end of this financial year. Of
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