Page 1448 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 26 September 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
work out exactly what that stands for, but that firm has done the costing figures for Woden Valley Hospital and Royal Canberra Hospital, and we want those figures on a ward-by-ward basis. We also want the figures for an overall, detailed costing of both hospitals.
In that briefing, we would like to see how those figures apply to the principal hospital, if the principal hospital has 500 beds or 400 beds, because we want to be able to search out that option. To give credit to the Government where it is due, it has kept its options open. The Minister has been prepared at all times to discuss this matter. I realise this is not the sort of thing that he can deliver in one second, but at all times what I have requested of him he has provided. I hope that this will continue.
We have also asked for a comparative cost of staffing in terms of nursing, medical, administrative and other staff. That takes me back to my introductory statement, that the people who work in the hospitals are the key to making the services work. Anybody who was at the demonstration by staff and friends of Royal Canberra and anybody who has been talking to staff from Royal Canberra will see and understand clearly that the staff have very, very strong feelings about their hospital and their hospital system. It is very important to ensure that our patients - because they are what are hospital is about - have what they perceive to be the best possible services. That runs across a series of issues, which include both the best medical treatment and also the best recovery area. Nobody can deny that the Royal Canberra Hospital is probably on one of the best sites of any hospital in Australia, and when you are looking for rehabilitation that is of great advantage. The Rally will not move on its position of retaining the Royal Canberra Hospital.
DR KINLOCH (8.20): Following Mr Moore's excellent comments and indeed other speakers' excellent comments, I just briefly want to say that the Social Policy Committee is looking at some of these questions in a special way. I do not want to pre-empt any of that. Indeed Mr Wood might want to comment on this. There are special facilities in this city; for example, Professor Peter Sennett in gerontology, Professor Scott Henderson in the problem of dementia, demography, sociology departments, biochemistry departments, the John Curtin School. From all of them we are hearing very positive things about the future possibilities of the Royal Canberra Hospital. I am not making any conclusions here or suggesting that the committee is making any conclusions, but these are very much under examination at the moment and I hope we keep them in mind.
MR BERRY (Minister for Community Services and Health), in reply (8.21): Mr Humphries opened up by suggesting that this was a thorny debate. I must say that it was not my intention to develop a debate that would be thorny in
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .