Page 1683 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
As I mentioned, I will give some further detail on the work currently underway commissioned through the Nous Group. That will give us further answers we do not have at hand today. As Mrs Dunne noted, when I met with Arthritis ACT some weeks ago they presented to us for the first time a significant increase in the number of people coming to them requiring access to either hydrotherapy or warm-water exercise.
That is a significant increase and it is something we discussed, trying to understand what was behind this increase. There are a number of potential reasons, one being increased referrals to Arthritis ACT. We agreed that it was a really good opportunity to understand what is driving a 40 per cent increase in three months. That is some of the work Nous Group is now doing with Arthritis ACT, that is, further understand what is behind this growth. As a part funder of Arthritis ACT it is certainly in the government’s interest to understand the growth and how we meet it not just now but into the future.
That will be part of the work Nous Group are doing to assess current demand and referral trends for hydrotherapy and warm-water exercise. I have asked them to ensure that the current policy settings and contractual arrangements with Arthritis ACT are appropriate and effective for community members, to determine the supply of hydrotherapy and warm-water facilities across the ACT and to provide advice to government about securing sessions at these facilities.
Through my discussions with Arthritis ACT I am aware that they were doing some of that work, and we have offered this as a way for Arthritis ACT to step back from that and focus on supporting their members so that we can bring to that discussion the view that if we need to increase access to sessions the government is willing to do that. Mrs Dunne asked whether other pools can be brought up to standard or heated to a higher temperature, and the government is well positioned to have discussions with different facilities to determine if there is a reasonable way to do that.
I have heard feedback from a number of people, many of whom may be in the gallery today, that they love and have been using the Canberra Hospital pool for some time. Its closure will be of concern to them just as it is of concern to me to make sure we have continued access to sessions at other locations. It is the view of some that we can secure those sessions, and that is the work that is underway, that is, to understand exactly how we can do that right now.
As the amendment notes, we undertake not to close the pool until we can access comparable levels of services and sessions, further understand the increase in demand, and understand where warm-water therapy is best provided and where hydrotherapy is best provided. As I indicated, Arthritis ACT’s sessions at the Canberra Hospital are about equally split between hydrotherapy sessions and warm-water exercise sessions, and there are certainly more options available for warm-water sessions, including at some fairly new pools that have opened in close proximity to the Legislative Assembly.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video