Page 463 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 21 March 2023

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Motion (by Ms Orr) agreed to:

That leave of absence be granted to Ms Berry (Deputy Chief Minister) for this sitting due to personal reasons.

Correction to the record

MRS KIKKERT (Ginninderra) (3.25), by leave: I wish to correct the record on a statement that I made earlier today. I gave a report on the inquiry into Appropriation Bill 2022-2023 (No 2) and Appropriation (Office of the Legislative Assembly) Bill 2022-2023 (No 2). In that report I mentioned that the committee held one public hearing on 8 December 2022. It was actually held on 27 February 2023. Thank you.

Health—gynaecology oncology

MS CASTLEY (Yerrabi) (3.26): I move:

That this Assembly:

(1) notes:

(a) that ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer deaths in females and one in 20 women will develop gynaecological cancer in their lifetime;

(b) most women in the ACT who require gynaecological oncology surgery must travel to Sydney;

(c) the Minister for Health said on 17 June 2022, that she supported a gynaecological oncology unit “in principle” but could not provide a budgetary commitment at this stage; and

(d) a presentation by the Clinical Director of Maternity and Gynaecology Department, in April 2022, highlighted the following clinical risk issues with maintaining a fly-in-fly-out service: fragmented care, no oversight of referrals or appointments, multiple instances of delayed treatment and, as a result, poor outcomes;

(2) further notes:

(a) Tasmania and the Northern Territory both have permanent gynaecological oncology units which service a smaller population than the ACT and broader region;

(b) a petition on Change.org for a permanent gynaecological cancer unit in the ACT was signed by 3,218 supporters;

(c) an applicant was selected to head a permanent unit in the ACT, however, the applicant rejected the offer when Canberra Health Services (CHS) were unwilling to provide sufficient surgery days each month; and

(d) there is no specific job listed on CHS Jobsearch for a gynaecology oncology specialist; and

(3) calls on the ACT Government to:


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