Page 1691 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 15 May 2019
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Of course the UC facility is world class. A huge amount of money was poured into it. It is, I think, on the wrong side of the University of Canberra as well. It makes it quite difficult for anybody on the old 300 or rapid 4 route to actually access, which is why it takes three buses to go from so many parts of Canberra to the Aikman Drive or Ginninderra Drive side of the campus.
That is done. That decision is well and truly made, and I hope that there will be some further improvements, the much-needed improvements, to the bus network again as a result of community outcry to actually get some better routes to service the hospital at UC as well. Obviously there are not good public transport connections to the hospital at the moment, and that should have been considered by the government when it came to looking for alternative facilities. We have got a win today and it is a credit to Bec Davey and all the advocates who have fought for this outcome.
I thank Mrs Dunne for standing up and fighting for this because had she not put this on the agenda today, had she not spoken publicly, had she not put the pressure on Minister Fitzharris, we would not be here. We are going to get a good result today, and I just hope the minister keeps her word.
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (11.44): The benefits of hydrotherapy are well known and have already been talked about today. The people who use hydrotherapy services know this as much as anyone. They use it for a variety of conditions.
I speak to this as the shadow minister for seniors because many older Canberrans have approached me about this proposed closure of the hydrotherapy pool at the Canberra Hospital and expressed their concerns. Nowhere has this concern been greater than in the south of Canberra, especially in Tuggeranong. Many older people have arthritis. It is something that is more common as you age. It is not only due to but certainly can be associated with ageing. Those older people may well have mobility problems due to their condition—arthritis or something else—which means that long walks to bus stops and long bus trips are not a good option and may create additional issues.
They are usually accessing hydrotherapy services or hydrotherapy to assist with pain management. Warm water pools are not enough. In fact, at some temperatures it can increase the amount of pain rather than alleviate and assist with the pain. The water has to be at the right temperature. Just having a warm water pool is not enough to assist these people.
Whilst the University of Canberra hydrotherapy pool is a great new facility it is not a good option for people in, for example, the Lanyon Valley who already have significant distances to travel to the Canberra Hospital. I have taken three random addresses in Lanyon Valley and what it would take for them to get from their address on a Wednesday morning to the University of Canberra hydrotherapy pool.
With apologies to the people who actually live at these addresses because I have just randomly selected some addresses—from 28 Jane Sutherland Street in Conder it is a 600-metre walk to the nearest bus stop. Who knows how long that will take if you have mobility issues—perhaps not the eight minutes suggested on the travel planning
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