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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 7 Hansard (24 June) . . Page.. 2332 ..
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER
: Order! The Leader of the Opposition's time has expired. Would you like to take your other 10 minutes, Mr Smyth?MR SMYTH
: I would love to take my other 10 minutes, Mr Deputy Speaker.MR DEPUTY SPEAKER
: Proceed.MR SMYTH
: The minister revealed that the average waiting time for category 1 surgery at Canberra Hospital had risen from 12 days in February 2001 to 13 days in February 2002 and was almost reaching 23 days in February 2003.Mr Corbell
: Oh, gee!MR SMYTH
: The minister moans, groans and whines about that. He is right; the wait is 30 days. In February 2001, when we were in office, it was 12 days. It was 13 days in February 2002 and it was 23 days in February 2003. Let us look at category 1 for Calvary, for instance. It went from 14 days in February 2001 to just 11 days in February 2002, so there was a better performance there, but rose sharply to 27 days in February 2003. If the minister thinks that that is okay, I think that the minister is in for a big shock. We are not seeing as large an increase in category 2 and category 3, but are seeing a trend that says that they are increasing as well. I think that the minister should revert to the former system of reporting so that we can gauge these numbers over a period, which would be much better.The other thing that concerns me significantly about the health portfolio is the apparent decline in public health funding for primary health care measures out in the community. Unless we undertake this activity-in fact, unless we increase this activity, unless we reinforce this activity-we will end up with more and more people in hospital, the old line about prevention being better than cure. I am concerned that such funding appears to have been reduced in this budget. It looks like the fall for public health has been from $19.3 million to $17.65 million, about 8 per cent.
I think that that is a shame because it means that the government does not have the foresight to see that, unless you start increasing primary health care, get Canberrans to be fitter and healthier and look after them when they are well, you will have this added burden on the health budget in the outyears because people who can be looked after now will be much worse and much sicker when they get to hospital. I think those programs need to be looked at.
I note that today the minister released his report on respite care. I have not had a chance to look at it but, from what the committee heard during the estimates process and the contact I have had with the community, there is a need for extra places in respite care. I am not sure that we are getting that in this budget. Some of the measures have been changed and the department was unable to answer questions asked of it through the minister and took the questions on notice. I am not sure if those questions have been answered yet. Contrary to what the minister has said, quite a substantial number of questions that were taken on notice or placed on notice in the health portfolio still have not been answered.
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