Page 2530 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 1 August 2018
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ligature points identified in the accreditation report, and that had been identified prior to that, are in fact, without getting into too much detail, doors and door frames.
The new standard is that doors should have a pressure pad point on them, an electronically activated pressure pad, so that if someone does seek to use them as a ligature point, an alarm is activated and staff are notified straight away.
My advice is that in 2012, and presumably before that when it was being designed, that was not considered to be the standard considered necessary for an adult mental health unit and I think you will find that many mental health units in Australia do not comply with that standard now.
MR WALL: Minister, have the extreme risk ligature points at the Canberra Hospital been removed yet? If not, when will they be removed?
MR RATTENBURY: In part, the answer is yes. There are two doors identified for each accommodation unit. One is the door to the bathroom, or the ensuite, in each of the accommodation areas. Those doors were removed immediately. The external door from the accommodation unit into the corridor is obviously more problematic from a privacy perspective.
Also, the actual changeover of the doors is a difficult technical exercise. A prototype door—I will have to check this, and if I have up-to-date information I will provide that on notice—has recently been developed and is being tested. My expectation is that a transition process will begin for those doors in the coming month, if it has not already commenced.
Access Canberra—construction measures
MS ORR: My question is to the Minister for Regulatory Services. Can the minister outline recent measures to help support Access Canberra ensure good quality building in Canberra?
MR RAMSAY: I thank Ms Orr for the question and her demonstrated interest in good quality building here in Canberra. I am pleased to say that the government is getting on with the job and working to improve the quality of building in the territory. We currently have licence examinations for those applying for C class licences. By the end of this year, that will have been rolled out and extended to B and A class licences. This means that people seeking to become builders here in the territory will need to prove that they have the skills and the knowledge necessary to enter the industry before they become a licenced builder.
We will also roll this test out to one in five renewals of builders licences to ensure that those in the industry have knowledge that is current and reflects the building code of the day. These exams can also be used as a skills assessment at any time while they hold a licence where we believe that someone’s knowledge is not up to scratch to see whether they should continue to hold a licence.
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