Page 2863 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 14 August 2019
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What I have said and what I have committed to absolutely recognises, as I said last week, and again yesterday, that hydrotherapy has multiple benefits, physical and psychological, for people experiencing chronic illness and chronic pain in our community. That is why the market sounding that we have referred to will look at community-based facilities.
I expect that the work that the ACT Health Directorate will do with Arthritis ACT will occur over several weeks, but I am not setting a time frame for this. This work needs to be done properly and well, and in line with a methodology agreed with Arthritis ACT. While the current agreement will move to month to month with Arthritis ACT from the end of September, I have not put a time frame on closure because I want this work to be done thoroughly and well.
Nous also recommended that there be a study of the costs and benefits of different models for the longer term establishment of a hydrotherapy service in the south of Canberra. The work to collect data on the users of hydrotherapy services and identify appropriate alternative services will also help to inform consideration of a new hydrotherapy facility in the south of Canberra. The government will be approaching the market to identify innovative proposals to establish a hydrotherapy pool in the south of Canberra. As part of that approach, we will be seeking feedback on partnership models that could be considered. I understand that there are already ideas out there and people will want to come forward with proposals.
Nous also recommended that the ACT Health Directorate review the funding agreement with Arthritis ACT to resolve the issues within it. Work will commence on this shortly, alongside the work to identify appropriate alternative services for the users of the hydrotherapy pool at Canberra Hospital. I have acknowledged in correspondence with Arthritis ACT that this is likely to require additional funding to secure access to private facilities or transport.
In the course of this work and into the future, it will be important to discuss these matters with a wide variety of stakeholders in addition to Arthritis ACT, including organisations such as the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and the Health Care Consumers Association, acknowledging again the broad potential benefits of hydrotherapy for many people in the community. These discussions will ensure that we consider hydrotherapy facilities and their use in both managing chronic conditions and maintaining health and wellbeing, as well as providing rehabilitation.
Before I finish, I want to say that at this point what is creating anxiety and confusion in the community is actually the Canberra Liberals’ approach. We have been very clear that we need to find a path forward. I cannot, as the responsible minister, ask Canberra Health Services to keep open indefinitely a facility that they are telling me represents an unacceptable work health and safety risk. We cannot do that, and it is astonishing to me that Mrs Dunne believes the Assembly should be doing that.
I am not going to put words in the mouth of Arthritis ACT, as sometimes Mrs Dunne does, so I will quote the words of the Arthritis ACT CEO from an interview last week on ABC Radio Canberra. She acknowledged:
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