Page 3088 - Week 08 - Thursday, 7 August 2008
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
I think it was Dr Foskey who quite rightly said that geographically you have shifted people out of the Tuggeranong Valley, which is now in the Brindabella electorate, up into Molonglo. It has left a really a gaping hole in terms of GP service delivery. I think Mr Corbell said it was about not giving false hope. I absolutely agree with that. But it is at least sending a clear message to the people of Tuggeranong that we are not just going to take this matter lying down. We are going to stand up for those people. I think it sends a clear message to Primary Health Care that the people in Canberra will not be treated in such a way.
I think that at the heart of this we believe the inquiry will be able to unravel things, as Mr Smyth pointed out too, and to provide some answers. The people, including the doctors and those thousands of patients, deserve answers. I know; I am one of them. I felt shocked when I walked into my doctor on Friday to be told, “We were told on Wednesday that we have got to pack up in a week and a couple of days.” I was mortified. I just could not believe it.
There in the surgery were two elderly people on frames. There were three people with disabilities. There were three mothers each with two children in tow. That surgery was packed. I cannot understand the rationale behind why this has happened to such a thriving practice. It beggars belief. I think this is the answer that these doctors, these patients and the people in that community deserve.
I think, as others have said, this is devastating. We are seeing perhaps the slow degradation and decimation of another local centre. Heaven forbid that that will happen because there have been millions of dollars investment in that area on the local supermarket, the refurbishment of the chemist and a new takeaway. We have seen a new service, the medical centre—over $1.2 million spent on refurbishment.
We have seen that bombshell dropped on those people in such a short space of time. Again, I was told by the owner, “Well, what did you want me to do—give them a month’s notice?” I said, “You know, it is called courtesy and it is called working with people.” Nobody saw this coming, which was quite scary.
I think I have made my points clear about what I might have done if I were health minister. I think it will, if nothing else, send a message that we as a legislature do not take this sort of treatment lightly. I really believe that this move that they have proposed, far from having a positive impact on the community, will indeed have the opposite effect.
I will continue to work with my colleagues here in this place. I really thank Ms Porter today. I have to thank her most sincerely for the cooperation and work that she did in talking with her colleagues in the absence of the committee chair, who was overseas on parliamentary business. I thank all those who have spoken today. I thank my colleagues to my left and to my right—Mr Pratt and Mr Smyth—and I thank the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Seselja.
I am also going to work with my colleagues and with the owner of the building to see that the valley is not deprived of GPs. Let us see what we can do. The opposition have a plan. We have already tabled some policy about what we would do in the north of
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .