Page 2173 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 6 June 1990
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unrelated to the hospital redevelopment program and is not part of the strategy to reduce the number of public hospital beds normally in use in the ACT. It is essential that necessary fire safety standards are maintained, irrespective of the use to be made of existing hospital buildings at Royal Canberra. The work has inevitably led to inconvenience for both the staff and clients of the hospital over a short period. I regret this, but it is unavoidable.
There have been several alarmist comments about the availability of public hospital beds at present. This issue is complicated by the use of different terms - for example, the number of beds approved, those which are staffed or available to be used and those which are actually in use. Royal Canberra Hospital has not operated at around 440 beds since 1985. In other words, that was also the case during Mr Berry's tenure. Over recent years, on average 383 beds have been available in that hospital.
Since February, around 60 beds have been temporarily closed due to fire penetration work. Twenty-five of those beds reopened on Monday of this week. The average occupancy of available beds over the past three years has been 303, about 80 beds below capacity. Even with 60 beds temporarily closed, there is still some capacity to meet the needs of additional patients. The current 35-bed shortfall will be restored as quickly as possible once fire safety works are completed.
Mr Speaker, the statement by Ms Follett this morning that there were only 277 beds in the hospital at the present time is, therefore, simply and utterly untrue. I would appeal to members of the medical profession and Mr Berry not to cause undue alarm to staff by making incorrect public statements about the availability of beds in Canberra. Such statements can only have an adverse effect on the ability of hospitals to recruit staff and therefore provide a full service to ACT residents.
Juvenile Crime
MR CONNOLLY: Mr Speaker, my question is also directed to Mr Humphries, as Minister for Education. I draw Mr Humphries' attention to the comments of Dr Paul Wilson of the Australian Institute of Criminology, reported in this morning's Canberra Times, that crime and delinquency rates would increase as a consequence of large numbers of school closures. Does Mr Humphries have any comment on these allegations?
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I disagree with Dr Wilson. I do not see any evidence of that. I see no evidence of that having occurred as a result of the Labor Party's closures at the end of 1988 and I see no reason why it should occur necessarily as a result of the closures being brought about by the Alliance Government in 1990.
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