Page 748 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 24 March 1993
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Private Health Services
MRS CARNELL: My question is to the Minister for Health. This morning the Prime Minister made the following statement with regard to the future of health under his Labor administration - - -
Mr Wood: Yes, Senator Richardson.
MRS CARNELL: No, the Prime Minister made the statement. I quote what the Prime Minister said:
We need to examine service delivery issues to improve the efficiency with which the medical system meets customer needs. We need also to look at the relationship between the public and private health systems to ensure we are using both optimally, and to make the most of the linkages between the two.
Taking into account Mr Berry's often stated views on private health and, more particularly, the new private hospital, what is he going to do to utilise the private health sector optimally, as stated by the Prime Minister?
MR BERRY: That sounds like a question that Graham Richardson might answer better than me. It is, after all, a statement by the Prime Minister which I am not privy to; but I can say a few things, none of which you will be comfortable with. The position of this Labor Government has always been to ensure that we provide a full range of services in the public hospital system. We continue with that emphasis, despite the carping of the Liberals and, in particular, Mrs Carnell, who has been attacking the public hospital system ever since she got here.
Mr Moore: Even the health spokesperson lost his seat.
MR BERRY: The Liberal health spokesperson, as Mr Moore properly interjects, continually attacked the public hospital system and lost his seat. I warn you that that could be the outcome. You just have to be reasonable in your approach to the public hospital system. The people of the Australian Capital Territory love it and so does Labor federally. Mr Keating has made it very clear that they intend to pursue a course of action which will result in better services to the community.
Turning now to the linkages, the private sector in the ACT has always held an important place. The John James Hospital is a significant contributor to medicine in the ACT, and that continues to be recognised. In fact, health professionals work in both John James and the public hospital system, so the linkages are very clear and I expect that a good relationship will continue. The same applies in relation to Calvary Hospital. Part of the Calvary Hospital is run as a private hospital and they run, on our behalf, a public hospital, and the relationships are good.
Mrs Carnell: What are you going to do?
MR BERRY: I can tell you what we will not do. We will not come up with crazy plans like Mr Humphries did, to build hospitals where there was no market for them and where the people of the ACT did not want them.
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