Page 1066 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 April 1994
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While awaiting surgery I have required emergency treatment twice, consulted my GP eight times, attended specialists four times, and spent over $200 on drugs and medical aids.
Every time the specialist and I contact the hospital we're told that there just aren't enough beds and I'll have to wait a bit longer.
I'm on a cardio-respiratory system for 15 hours every day, I'm virtually housebound and my health is deteriorating every minute.
I rang Mr Berry's office to tell him, but his people said it was the fault of my specialist in not prioritising his case load.
Yet every time I talk to Woden Valley they tell me it's because the Minister has cut the number of beds available to such a level that there are not enough to treat even urgent cases.
That is the comment of Woden Valley Hospital themselves, not of the specialist. So there you have it. Ask the - - -
Mr Berry: And the gentleman has been told.
MRS CARNELL: Yes, he told me about his discussion with you, Mr Berry. He told me what he told you too. I think you just have to ask the people involved, the patients, what they think about the service you used to provide, Mr Berry. Listen to them for a change. There is plenty they want to talk about, and I certainly hope that Mr Connolly listens.
Another measure of the deplorable state of our health services is the number of beds for our population. In the ACT we have fewer operational beds per head of population than any other State or Territory has. The ex-Minister tried to tell us that after the Christmas slow-down 56 beds were "unavailable". The Christmas slow-down last year was longer than ever before. It was extended to six weeks from four weeks the year before. Why was it extended? It was extended because the Minister had run out of money. But at the end of the slow-down what happened? Fifty-six beds that were due to reopen became "unavailable". "Unavailable" is Berryspeak for "closed". So why do you not tell the truth? Let us hope that the fact that Mr Berry is no longer in the ministry means that we will get some real truth, some plain truth.
Mr Berry: I take a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. The imputation that the Minister did not tell the truth needs to be withdrawn.
MRS CARNELL: I am happy to withdraw anything that I said that is not true.
Mr Berry: It has to be an unequivocal withdrawal.
MRS CARNELL: I am happy to withdraw. The fact is that when Labor gave the reins of Health to Mr Berry in June 1991 the average number of available beds in the ACT was 891. Today, even using Health's own figures, it is only 658. That is 233 fewer beds.
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