Page 3889 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 4 December 2007
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establishment of a department of ophthalmology, including a registered training program, to expand the range of ophthalmology services provided in the public health system. That is very good; it is very, very credible. But, again, it says to me that planning here really has not been forthcoming or we have just made people wait until we have found more money so that we can get on with it now. Again, that is disappointing in terms of the timing.
There are other things. The gamma camera replacement project is also a very, very worthwhile initiative. But, again, I wish somebody could explain to me why we had to wait until now and why it could not have been done in the budget. I think somebody said something about actually getting the machines. Maybe I will give the benefit of the doubt on that one.
The same applies to the computer radiography unit for radiation oncology. Again, it is another worthwhile program, to purchase a computerised radiography unit for the linear accelerator. I am not sure of the timing of these things. If somebody can explain to me why we had to wait to bring this on now and why we could not have done it sooner that would be really good.
Mr Barr: Look at it the other way and say it has been brought forward ahead of next year’s budget.
MRS BURKE: No. It could have been done in June, surely.
With regard to the replacement of the existing superficial X-ray radiotherapy treatment unit, it is the same again; purchasing new equipment. That is good. We have got to replace ageing and existing equipment. But, again, there is the timing of it. Why did we have to wait so long?
Another thing I want to look at here is the GP work in Canberra campaign. Obviously, we know we are around 60 GPs short in Canberra. I know that this has been an initiative welcomed by the ACT Division of General Practice. ACT Health are going to fund the marketing and support officer. I will obviously be keeping a keen eye on that and hoping that it works. But, again, it seems to me that we are just tinkering around the edges with this. It sounds nice, and I really hope it works. I really hope we can get something from that because, obviously, as the government says, more GPs mean better access to primary care and less pressure on hospital emergency departments.
I would have to question that because the head of the AMA, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, actually made some comments in which she asserts that people attending and presenting to an emergency department do need to be there. So there is some grey area about whether people actually do need to be there. Maybe we need to train people in their minds that they should call Health First, as it is now known, or go to their pharmacy or get information from elsewhere, but many people who go to emergency, in their minds, do not particularly go there to wait eight or nine hours or longer. If they do not need to be there, I cannot see why they would be presenting there. I think there is a lot more work that needs to be done on that particular area.
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