Page 745 - Week 03 - Thursday, 2 April 2020
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The explanatory statement notes that there is also the potential for the application and enforcement of the emergency powers to result in discrimination against vulnerable groups. I can assure the Assembly that all ministers are aware of this potential and will closely monitor any enforcement measures.
The Chief Health Officer will continue to work across government and at the national level to ensure that we have the appropriate settings in place to protect Canberrans and, if required, will issue further public health directions. The Chief Health Officer also has ultimate responsibility for health sector planning in the event of a public health emergency. Dr Coleman has recently appointed the CEO of Canberra Health Services as deputy health controller, clinical services, to implement a sector-wide clinical services plan to respond to this unprecedented challenge.
The ACT government is committed to providing all appropriate resources to support the ACT’s public health services to continue providing essential health services to the community and to respond to the additional demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes provision for respiratory assessment clinics, an increase in inpatient beds, emergency and intensive care capacity across the territory, maintenance of COVID-19 testing capacity, and the purchase of additional medical equipment and supplies. The Chief Health Officer has issued specific advice on COVID-19 to ensure health workers are well prepared and have the information they need to identify and manage any cases of this infection.
The government’s priority is to provide appropriate health care to those affected by this disease. This includes putting procedures in place to protect the health of our staff and patients from viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.
Following endorsement by the national cabinet, the Prime Minister announced that, from 25 March 2020 until further notice, all elective surgery other than category 1 and urgent category 2 cases will be suspended. This applies to both public and private hospital systems. Alongside this measure, the ACT’s public health system is reducing non-urgent and non-essential outpatient and community activity. These changes will help to contain the spread of COVID-19 and decrease demand on our health system, ensuring that our services are well resourced and staffed to respond to the pandemic.
Additional measures to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community include introducing visitor restrictions at key sites, including Canberra Hospital, the University of Canberra Hospital and Calvary Public Hospital. More recently, specific measures were announced in relation to maternity services.
Our top priority now is to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community and to keep Canberrans safe. These have been very difficult decisions to make and we know there are many Canberrans who will be impacted. But we have also seen how willingly Canberrans have adopted and adapted to the new measures, whether that is in relation to physical distancing, non-essential business closures or reducing visitor numbers in hospitals and aged-care facilities. I thank them for that.
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