Page 2785 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The culture review highlighted issues in the health system that make for uncomfortable reading. We are now in a position to really tackle those, and that will be an important part of the work in the coming year. Whilst there is funding in the budget for that, in highlighting the key initiatives, often we do not talk about the work that goes on underneath to actually make it happen.
Aligned with that is safety in our healthcare system. The nurse safety strategy to reduce and manage occupational violence is another important piece of work that we will follow through this year. This was a commitment in the Labor-Greens parliamentary agreement, and I am dedicated to ensuring the safety of our nurses. The strategy outlines a vision where staff, patients and visitors to ACT public health services are protected from harm and feel safe at all times. This work is led by ACT Health and also encompasses Canberra Health Services, the University of Canberra Hospital and Calvary Public Hospital at Bruce.
Before I close today, I want to express my gratitude to all the healthcare professionals across our ACT mental health and justice health services who remain extremely committed to providing the best care and services they can for people in our community. I also want to reiterate the government’s ongoing commitment to improving mental health services for the Canberra community.
We know that mental health issues are becoming increasingly common as we work to continue to break down stigma and encourage people to come forward to ask for help. As I have said in this place before, as Minister for Mental Health and minister for justice health, I recognise that we continue to face challenges in this field and that we need to continue to invest in initiatives that enable our services to respond appropriately to growing demand.
My commitment is to continue to work with mental health staff, consumers and carers so that we continue to provide a timely, high quality and evidence-based service for those who need it for the duration that they need it. This $24 million package of investments demonstrates that commitment. I welcome the input we have had from the groups—be it our own staff within government or non-government partners, consumers and carers—who have helped shape this year’s budget package. We listen to their input constantly and try to reflect that in the priorities we have in the budget each year. Not everyone in each of those groups always agrees, and there are more things to get done, but I trust that they will see their fingerprints on this year’s budget as we seek to incorporate the feedback we get from the community.
The new initiatives announced in the budget add to the existing funding that the ACT government has committed in recent years to mental health and justice health. These initiatives continue to build on all of the work underway across the system—whether it be through the newly established office for mental health and wellbeing, our mental health policy team within the health directorate, or the clinical staff at Canberra Health Services—to ensure that, as our city grows, we are continuing to strengthen Canberra’s mental and justice health services and we can make the journeys for people transitioning between hospital care and the community as smooth as possible.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video