Page 2148 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 5 June 2019
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Since the accreditation, mental health staff have worked to upgrade the facility to align with these new standards as quickly as possible. We have engaged consumer, carer and staff groups in these conversations to determine how these works can be undertaken in a busy and fully operational environment in a way that causes the least amount of disruption but, equally, is most convenient for those who are currently in the facility. The final phase of works is getting underway shortly and I anticipate that these works will be completed by the end of August.
While our mental health facilities are relatively new and in good working condition, I acknowledge that other parts of our health system are facing some infrastructure pressures. In particular, some of our older facilities at Calvary Hospital and some parts of the Canberra Hospital will need upgrades or replacements in the near future. That is the nature of health systems. There will always be a program of maintenance and infrastructure works underway or in the pipeline.
This is an important and complicated process and one that requires detailed planning and demand assessments to ensure that our health system can continue to meet the needs of our community. I understand that the necessary planning and assessment processes are in place and that the Minister for Health and Wellbeing is working with the directorate to plan for our future health infrastructure requirements.
That is why we will be supporting Minister Fitzharris’s amendment to the motion today. I look forward to an update on the territory-wide planning process for health infrastructure later this year, including an update on the territory-wide master plan for health infrastructure. In the amendment that Minister Fitzharris has circulated there is a detailed account of a range of infrastructure programs that are underway or being planned that have been funded. I am hopeful that any questions about plans for the renewal of ageing health infrastructure and planning for expanding north-side hospital services that have not been covered in today’s debate or in the updated amended motion will be answered through the update of the master plan and the broader master planning process.
As our city grows, the demand for health services is increasing. Some of the old facilities in our health system will require upgrades to cope with increasing demand. We need to take a systemic, territory-wide approach to this process to get the best outcomes, to make the best use of our investment. That process is already underway through the UMAHA program, the territory-wide health services strategy and the planning for SPIRE and the Centenary hospital.
There is more work to do. We will continue to invest in infrastructure, both in mental health and in the broader health system, to prepare our health system for the future. This year’s budget clearly demonstrates that commitment and will continue that focus in future years. We will be supporting the amendment.
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (4.22): I would like to commend my colleague Mrs Dunne for bringing this important motion forward today. Health and health infrastructure are key items that people raise with me when I am out talking to people in my electorate—indeed, across Canberra. The cost of living, health, education and,
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