Page 935 - Week 03 - Thursday, 21 March 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
I have always had, and I continue to have, an open and transparent approach to health. I am up-front about the issues we face as our city grows and as our community ages. And I am committed to improving services, but also to addressing the challenges in this portfolio and instituting real change to improve our health system.
Of course we would like our public health system to operate perfectly and efficiently every day of the year. Of course we would, and that is our objective. But the reality is that our health system is complex and it is going through a significant period of reform. Reform is never easy, but it is necessary. I have not shied away from the challenges in our health system. Indeed, I have tackled them head on. I have worked with my colleagues, particularly the Minister for Mental Health, to restructure our health system so that it will work better for our community, our staff, and our patients.
Patients and staff are at the centre of everything that we do in health. That is why we are investing close to $2 billion a year in our public hospitals and health services. This year we anticipate close to 120,000 admissions to our public hospitals and 150,000 presentations to Canberra’s emergency departments. To manage this growth, this year alone we are investing an additional $65 million in more surgeries, $34.5 million to expand hospital in the home, $26 million to boost the number of hospital beds, $21 million for more emergency department staff, $15 million to upgrade Calvary Public Hospital, and $2 million for the new nurse-led walk-in centre in Weston Creek. These are just some of the ways we are delivering better health care.
It is clear that the opposition chooses again and again to ignore all the great work that ACT Health, Canberra Health Services and Calvary Public Hospital are doing. It is all that we have come to expect from an opposition that has nothing positive to say about our public health system—not once. Mrs Dunne should recognise the great work that goes on every day. Does she not realise the impact that this has on staff? While they like to attack our health staff, our nurses and doctors, we are committed to supporting them. Many staff have noticed the relentless negativity. They recognise that the Canberra Liberals have raised a number of issues, but they shake their heads. They never hear anything positive from the Canberra Liberals. There have been years of opposition health spokespeople who have done nothing but attack our public health system.
The best way we can support nurses, doctors and other staff in our health workforce is to invest in the services and infrastructure they need to do their jobs. That is what we do in each budget and that is what we will continue to do. But it is also vital that we ensure that the public health system is operating as best it can. That is why, as I have said repeatedly, I have led some of the most significant reforms in our system, in governance, structure, leadership and culture. These have been tough changes, but they have been necessary.
The new leadership teams within ACT Health, Canberra Health Services and Calvary are committed to supporting their staff and ensuring that they are able to do the wonderful work they do, caring with skill and compassion for our community. It is also, for example, why I have been working with the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Foundation to introduce a ratios framework and develop the nurses and midwives
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video