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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 11 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 3537 ..

MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND COMMUNITY CARE

QUESTION ON NOTICE: No. 67

Pathology Contracts

Mr Stanhope - on 19 November 1998 asked the Minister for Health and Community Care questions in relation to Pathology Contracts:

In relation to Pathology Contracts noted in the ACT Gazette No. 36, issued on 9 September 1998, under `contracts arranged' for the 1997/98 financial year, in which pathology contractors were paid around $181,000; under the heading `description of suppliers', there was no apt description of the purchased items, just the word: Pathology. Can you outline -

(1) why this level of detail was omitted;

(2) whether it is possible for these details to be made available; and

(3) whether this situation will be rectified in subsequent editions of the Gazette.

Mr Moore - The answers to Mr Stanhope's questions are as follows:

1) The `contracts arranged' noted in the ACT Gazette No. 36 with the `Description of Supplies' listed as `Pathology' were for various laboratory consumables.

Department of Health and Community Care purchasing officers input details of purchases into the ACT Government's `Buyers and Sellers Information System' (basis) which subsequently generates `Contracts Arranged' information for the Gazette. Purchasing officers use local desktop procedures as a guide for the actions required.

In this case, the items purchased comprised various laboratory test kits, chemical reagents and calibration standards for The Canberra Hospital Pathology Laboratories involving complex item names and part numbers. In view of the complex item descriptions, the purchasing officer responsible for these gazettals used a summary description of `Pathology' supplies when entering data into the `basis' system.

2) Copies of the relevant purchase orders are provided for the Member's information. The purchase orders illustrate the complex nature of the item descriptions.

3) The `Description of Supplies' information previously entered into the `basis' system will be amended for the affected purchase orders, where a more appropriate short description can be identified. Public access to the `basis' system is available via the ACT Government home pages on the internet.

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