Page 3000 - Week 08 - Thursday, 15 August 2019
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The prep for pre program engages families to be active partners in their children’s learning prior to them entering the education system. Prep for pre is a targeted program for children and parents who need extra support to prepare for preschool. This could be because of particular needs or family circumstances. The program also provides for developmental assessments of children if needed.
Play groups and out-of-school hours care also play key roles in connecting with families in local communities. The early childhood strategy will have a focus on partnerships that support community connections for families and effective transitions for ACT children through strong collaborative relationships.
The details of these collaborations will unfold over time but what is clear is that three-year-old preschools will be an integrated part of a holistic service system that supports families and children from birth right through to their early school years.
Canberra Hospital—emergency department
MR HANSON: My question is to the Minister for Health. It has been reported to the opposition that the Canberra Hospital emergency department has been closed and patients are being diverted to Calvary. It has also been reported to us that nurses are being SMSed to do extra shifts and that beds are being opened across the hospital. Minister, can you confirm whether the ED at Canberra Hospital is closed to new patients? Is a bypass policy in place to take patients to Calvary? Are nurses being called on to do extra shifts, and are beds being opened elsewhere in the hospital to deal with the situation?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Hanson for the question. I cannot confirm in relation to the ED at the moment, but I can confirm that the emergency department at Canberra Hospital was on bypass for a period last night. For the information of the Assembly—and I know that Canberra Hospital and Canberra Health Services have indicated this on their Facebook page as well—yesterday was a day when they experienced a particularly large increase in demand through the emergency department. Last night, Wednesday, 14 August, Canberra Hospital exceeded capacity. To ease the pressure across the hospital, they created internal capacity, discharged appropriate patients and transferred patients to private hospitals.
Canberra Health Services have strong existing relationships with the private hospitals to ensure that patients receive safe and clinically appropriate care in cases of increased demand. Canberra Health Services also worked closely with the ACT Ambulance Service to manage transfers of patients across the health system. There was no obvious cause for the surge in admissions, other than usual seasonal fluctuations. This situation is likely to take a few days to resolve.
As I mentioned, Canberra Health Services had a period of bypass from 10 pm on Wednesday evening, yesterday evening, to 2 am today, 15 August. A bypass period provided a period to reduce inflow into the emergency department, to ensure that the emergency department stays safe. I would assure members, though, that during a bypass, where possible, ambulances are diverted to an alternative hospital to manage a
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