Page 155 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 17 February 1993
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The Commonwealth provided $647,000 in 1992-93 and $226,000 in 1993-94 to fund specific time limited waiting list initiatives according to a strict set of criteria governing what the money might be spent on and how it is to be acquitted.
Madam Speaker, these are the issues that have been addressed thus far: Two surgical registrars will be employed to deal with waiting lists, and that will cost $85,000 in 1992-93 and $170,000 in 1993-94; some domiciliary surgical nurses will be employed; and we will be purchasing some equipment to undertake more intrusive procedures. The purchase of this equipment will result in the length of stay being reduced again. In the short time that we have been in government we have achieved great success in reducing the length of stay. Such reductions mean that there will be increased throughput in our hospitals.
Madam Speaker, committing ourselves to the Medicare agreement, though a quite natural thing for a Labor government to do, was something which I think advantaged us significantly in that we were shown to be friends of Medicare. Mrs Carnell ought to sing our praises on this one. If you look at what the ACT received compared to the two Liberal States that were grandstanding on the issue of Medicare, you will see that we did a lot better.
Hospital In-Patient Fees
MRS CARNELL: My question is addressed to the Minister for Health. The December quarter financial performance reports show that receipts from in-patient fees - and I am saying it really slowly - are $356,400 below budget. This is due to the fall in the numbers of patients with private health insurance which, as the Minister knows, has been continuing for a number of years. Can the Minister tell the Assembly why his projected budget figures for the second six months of this year show an increase in in-patient fees, an increase in excess of budget? You are budgeting for a real increase in the number of privately insured patients using our public hospitals in the next six months. That is an increase in excess of budget after the last six months showed a 4 per cent decrease. Is it true that the Minister is budgeting for a Federal coalition win on 13 March, or can he think of another reason why substantial numbers of Canberrans would all of a sudden take out private health insurance?
MR BERRY: I think the substantive question was whether I was budgeting for a Hewson win. The answer is no.
MRS CARNELL: I ask a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Can the Minister explain what he is budgeting for? Can he explain why the figures for the second six months as outlined in the December quarter financial report show a real increase in in-patient fees? Is it true that the figures are fudged?
MR BERRY: Madam Speaker, sooner or later Mrs Carnell will come to the understanding that these figures are the board's figures, not my figures. The Board of Health, of course, is about to come to an end. The reason for the board's demise is not as Mrs Carnell has said. She has said that the reason for the board's demise is that I want more power over the hospital system. That is not the reason. The reason is - and everybody knows this - that the chairman has resigned, the deputy chairperson has resigned and one other person has resigned. It has been because of her political interference in the management processes in health that they have given it away. The chairman himself said that.
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