Page 5150 - Week 17 - Thursday, 13 December 1990
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It is notable that in the Bill before the house those services are not directly referred to. For example, in the old Community and Health Service Act 1985 those services were directly referred to. Take, for example, the provision of ambulances. There is no provision which clearly sets out, as a function of the Board, the provision of ambulance and other transport services.
In the view of the Labor Opposition, it is most important to ensure that there is clarity in describing the functions that the Board will perform in the course of the services that it is required to deliver to the people of the ACT. I do not know why the Government has chosen not to include a clear description of the services to be provided. It has not been made clear to me at any point, and it strikes me that this must be an oversight, because it is important, as I have said, that it is clear to all those who might refer to the legislation that these services are properly delineated.
The Australian Labor Party prefers the functions clauses outlined in the Community and Health Service Act 1985 and I cannot see why the Government would be opposed - if in fact they are; we are not in any way able to assess their position yet - to setting out a clear description of the functions of the board in the Bill which is before the house.
The amendment, of course, ensures that the provision of extra services is not limited by the list of services which the Labor Opposition seeks to include in the Health Services Bill. But the Health Services Bill itself, of course, is not as clear. Clause 6(1)(b) of the Bill states:
to manage the health services and health facilities under its control.
That is not a clear statement, because one would find it difficult to work out what health services and health facilities were indeed under the control of the board. If one refers to the interpretation clause, clause 3, one sees that "health facility" means "an institution under the Board's control"; but it does not talk about the sorts of services that might be provided from the facility.
It does talk about providing for the planning and evaluation of health services; it does talk about providing for the training and education of persons providing health services; and it does talk about making available to the public reports, information and advice in relation to the health of the community and the availability of health services. Clause 6(1)(a) merely says:
to provide health services for the residents of the Territory and, as appropriate, for the residents of the surrounding region.
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