Page 1386 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 24 March 2010
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MR SPEAKER: Ms Bresnan, a supplementary?
Mr Hanson: Or maybe they’re underfunded. It might be a clue.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Ms Bresnan has the floor.
MS BRESNAN: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, is the cut of seven beds a permanent or temporary move?
MS GALLAGHER: I understand it is temporary and they will be gradually moving back up to the full number of beds over the next few months. In relation to any concern that Calvary is underfunded, Calvary is provided with all the funding they require to run all of the beds. But, like any public hospital, they are under pressure and they are currently operating over budget. It is not a budget cut or the fact that they are underfunded, as Mr Hanson interjected. They are merely trying to manage increasing demand, as Canberra Hospital is as well.
MR HANSON: A supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Hanson.
MR HANSON: Minister, are there any other beds across our public hospitals that have been closed due to a lack of staff?
MS GALLAGHER: Not that I can recall, but these decisions are taken day by day, so I cannot give 100 per cent certainty. Safety for staff and safety for patients is number one, and there are occasions when, for one reason or another, relief staff are not able to be brought on, where a reduced amount of beds are in operation. For example, on every day of the week, the number of beds in operation at the Canberra Hospital changes. It fluctuates depending on staffing levels. We currently run around 450 beds. I have seen it rise to 470 when there is peak demand.
We had 195 people through the emergency department on Monday, a record amount. Of that 195, 60 were admitted to the hospital. That is essentially two full wards who were admitted on that day to the hospital. We flex beds up and down as we need them. At the moment we are operating more beds than I can ever recall in the past. But, on occasion, if staff are unable to be found or demand is not there for that particular unit, those beds will not need to be opened. But they are there for when the admissions are required.
MR SPEAKER: Ms Le Couteur, a supplementary?
MS LE COUTEUR: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, what will the government do to address any unmet demand for this unit—the original one Ms Bresnan was talking about—in the future?
MS GALLAGHER: At the moment they are not running to full demand. The unit is there and they have not necessarily had the admissions they need to use all of those
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