Page 5095 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 17 November 2009
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Essentially for palliative care services, my expectation is the service will grow. It will benefit from the additional expertise and resources that Little Company of Mary can provide if they have security over their future in palliative care services in the ACT.
There will be growth in palliative care outside that contract as well. For example, in the integrated cancer centre that will be built at Canberra Hospital that has already been funded, the expectation is there will be up to eight additional in-patient beds for palliative care in that facility as well.
Whilst there will be no noticeable change for users of the service, I am currently working through the issues for staff. There are a few issues for staff that I need to address prior to the government finalising its position on this proposal. But my expectation is palliative care services will improve.
MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, I have a supplementary—
MR SPEAKER: Mr Smyth, a supplementary question.
MR SMYTH: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, if Clare Holland House is not being used as a bargaining chip, why did the government offer it to the Little Company of Mary in the first instance? And why would the Little Company of Mary pull out of discussions if Clare Holland House were taken out of the proposal?
MS GALLAGHER: It is a bit difficult me answering on behalf of the Little Company of Mary, which is the second part of your question: why would they pull out if they were not able to have ownership over Clare Holland House?
As I said, this has been a discussion that the parties, LCM Health Care and the government, have been having over a number of years. It is a complex relationship and my understanding of the issues around the hospital and the government’s challenges around the hospital—indeed, how do we build the north side hospital in a way that can be supported financially but also through improvements overall to an integrated healthcare system—are not issues that are facing Clare Holland House.
I knew that Little Company of Mary, in discussions I have had with them before around potentially withdrawing from the hospital, have a very strong commitment to the people of the ACT for a role in public healthcare provision, whether that be through the hospital or through the palliation service that they run. That was where this conversation started. I had no intention of asking them to leave palliative care. The issues around the hospital which have led the government and Little Company of Mary to some frustration over the years are not issues that are presented at Clare Holland House. Mainly, we do not need to spend $200 million upgrading Clare Holland House and nor do we need to increase service provision by more than 50 per cent at Clare Holland House. They are not the issues, and they were the main drivers behind the government seeking to have the ownership and control of the hospital.
The second part of the question is really a matter for the Little Company of Mary themselves; it is around their commitment to the people of the ACT.
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