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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2110 ..

Ms Follett: You are double-counting.

MRS CARNELL: No; you were double-counting. We are counting everything once. On top of that, to the end of April, the waiting list has decreased by 270. That is a 6 per cent reduction since this Government came to office. I think that is something that we should be very proud of, Mr Speaker, and we certainly are. In fact, it shows that there is a staggering 23 per cent increase in main theatre surgery over that for the same time last year. That is a huge increase.

Certainly, the budget is still a problem; but we are seeing more patients, we are bringing down waiting lists and, as well as that, we are introducing, I think, very exciting new programs - programs that will ensure that, I suppose, the division that has existed between critical care and care in the home will be broken down in the future. It will mean that the continuity of care for patients when they leave hospital and go into their homes will be guaranteed. It will better integrate our hospital and our community services, with a focus on the patient, not on the service, Mr Speaker. We think, on this side of the house, that is absolutely essential. And, Mr Speaker, that is what our Bill that we will debate later this week, which brings together community services and the hospital under one statutory authority, will do as well. We must stop focusing in health on the services that exist and start focusing on the patient.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MS FOLLETT: I present Report No. 9 of 1996 of the Standing Committee on Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation. I seek leave to make a brief statement on the report.

Leave granted.

MS FOLLETT: Mr Speaker, Report No. 9 of 1996, which I have just presented, contains the committee's comments on nine Bills, 20 pieces of subordinate legislation and four Government responses. Mr Speaker, there are two matters which I would like to draw to the Assembly's attention. The first is that one of the Bills on which the committee is reporting today is the Gungahlin Development Authority Bill, which is a matter due to be debated later this week in the Assembly. I regret to say that that piece of legislation bears some mark of rather hasty drafting, and I would commend it to the responsible Minister's attention for possible amendment later this week. I would also like to comment, Mr Speaker, that the report I have just tabled contains a number of responses from the Attorney-General to previous reports of the Scrutiny of Bills Committee. As I say in the report, Mr Speaker, the Attorney-General's responses were invariably helpful, and I thank him for them. I commend the report to the Assembly.

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