Page 2479 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 9 August 2016
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Let us be very clear. In the most recent budget, in the budget we are debating this week, the government is spending over $139 million to employ a further 170 new health staff. Whilst those opposite are clearly embarked on an agenda of wanting to cut jobs in the ACT public service, we are investing in more doctors, more nurses and more allied health staff. Twenty-two more doctors will be employed as a result of this year’s budget. Another 91 nurses—91 nurses—will be employed as a result of this budget. There will be another 34 allied health professionals.
Mrs Jones interjecting—
MR CORBELL: At the same time, we are spending over $100 million on better health infrastructure and more health services. Of course, we are also spending over $200 million to develop the new University of Canberra public hospital.
Mrs Jones interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Mrs Jones, come to order.
MR CORBELL: Madam Speaker, let me drill down into some of the detail around the better services and better infrastructure that this government is investing in. There is $5.3 million to expand the trauma service at the Canberra Hospital. This will provide better care for trauma patients. If you or your family are injured in an accident on the roads—it might even be interstate—this service will provide you with a better level of care. We know that the Canberra Hospital is, of course, the designated major trauma centre for the ACT and the surrounding region of New South Wales. This additional capacity will allow us to better coordinate that trauma care. It will employ additional medical specialists who are expert in trauma care to coordinate the different doctors and nurses that are needed to deal with trauma to different parts of a person’s body.
At the same time, we are spending over $5.3 million for two additional special care nursery beds and eight additional staff at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children. This is designed to make sure that we see a reduction in the neonatal intensive care unit occupancy rates, with people not having to stay for so long; a decrease in the need to transfer people interstate, particularly for babies in utero, due to improved access to the neonatal intensive care unit beds; and, further, a decrease in the need to rely on nursing staff overtime by providing for greater capacity. (Time expired.)
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Ms Burch.
MS BURCH: Minister, can you inform the Assembly of what specific mental health initiatives were included in the 2016-17 budget?
MR CORBELL: I thank Ms Burch for her supplementary. Providing better mental health services is a particular priority for the government. We are providing an additional $50 million in new funding for better mental health care in our community. Once again, this is another great example, in rebuttal of those opposite, for when
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