Page 1324 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 25 March 2009

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medical centres in favour of the development of larger medical practices. The Greens are not opposed to the idea of having larger medical centres that provide a range of primary and secondary care services. But we want the consumer, our community, to continue to have a range of choices about the types of medical services they access. The delivery of primary health care by GPs has very much moved towards a business model and away from an approach that best serves the needs of doctors and consumers.

I would also encourage that this issue be taken to and looked at strongly by the Australian healthcare ministers conference and the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council, as it is an issue which does require attention at a federal level, and I am encouraged to hear that the health minister has made sure that this will occur. I also welcome the announcement of the task force by the health minister and the referral to the health committee. This will allow all parties in the Assembly to look at this very important issue and give the community, particularly with the health committee inquiry, the opportunity to have input into an issue which greatly impacts them all.

MR COE (Ginninderra) (4.06): It is clear that the Stanhope-Gallagher government has failed to adequately address declining GP numbers across the ACT. The minister, Ms Gallagher, is refusing to take responsibility for the decline and is also refusing to provide a clear strategy to reverse the current situation. Presumably she has been tied up looking at more palatable sounding synonyms for recession while the Health portfolio is screaming for attention.

GP clinic closures have and continue to have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of the community. The closures in Macquarie, Hall and more recently in Belconnen and Kippax have increased the burden on those clinics that remain open and forced patients to travel further to already crowded clinics with long waiting times. The Stanhope-Gallagher government has shown total disregard for the health needs of the community.

I understand that west Belconnen has one GP for every 3,274 people, compared to one GP for every 849 people throughout the rest of Canberra. This disadvantage of west Belconnen will continue to be exacerbated until the government takes seriously the matter of GP numbers. The minister may think it is well and good to simply give up and blame anyone but themselves and expect the people of west Belconnen to trek across Canberra to find another GP.

This is of particular concern for the elderly in my electorate who rely on their local GP to look after their often complex health needs, which sometimes require long-term care. One of the last things the elderly need is to have to travel further, which is difficult for those who are infirm or suffer from serious ailments. In addition, changing doctors and building new relationships with different medical professionals can also be quite stressful for the elderly in our community.

The unavailability of GP services also sometimes forces people into the hospital system, which is often the Calvary Hospital in Belconnen. Hospitals are far too strained as it is and emergency departments far too congested without having to


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