Page 3017 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 30 June 2010
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government report via budget papers the percentage of overall mental health funding allocated to community organisations. This will be a very helpful measure for people working in the community sector in mental health services.
ACT Health’s commitment to providing quality health services to prisoners at the AMC needs to be commended. The provision of health services to detainees can be costly, as Medicare benefits are not available from the federal government and prisoners often have very complicated health matters to address, ranging from dental health and mental health to drug and alcohol addiction. For many prisoners, it may be the first time they have access to any sort of health-related service, including a GP.
The next big step will be the review of whether a needle and syringe program should be trialled, a discussion which the Greens have a keen interest in. We are concerned about whether there will be accurate data on transmission rates within the prison. I understand that exit planning is under-resourced and not all prisoners are encouraged to have blood tests on exiting the prison, nor perhaps is the purpose of the testing explained to them. This needs to be rectified if we are to get a true picture of whether transmission of blood-borne viruses is occurring within the AMC.
Significant work has been undertaken by ACT Health in developing a regional hub for cancer services and generally I believe the government does well in its provision and coordination of services. There have been problems in planning for staff turnover. However, we acknowledge that attempts are being made to improve customer relations through improvements in communication and training of front-line staff and that the situation does appear to be improving. I would like to stress the importance of working with key consumer representative groups in keeping them informed. When problems occur people are normally more willing to work with you if you explain what the problem is and how you are trying to fix it.
One outstanding area of concern that remains with cancer treatment is the subsidy that patients receive if they must travel interstate for treatment. The estimates committee recommended that the next ACT government review of the interstate patient travel scheme be approached with a view to meeting real costs and providing an appropriate level of assistance where required.
The government noted this recommendation, stating that the commonwealth government provides policy principles for states and territories. Administrative principle 1 states that the scheme should provide a subsidy for travel and accommodation expenses to assist with access to specialist medical care. (Second speaking period taken.)
During estimates hearings, the minister told the committee that the ACT government meets all the costs for treatment and a $30 per day subsidy is offered to support some of the additional costs. This $30 per day subsidy does not seem to go very far towards meeting travel and accommodation expenses and, although it may be more than other jurisdictions pay, we need to assess whether or not this is adequately assisting people at a time of great need.
The Greens are also aware of a budget submission from the prostate cancer support group, requesting funding for three prostate cancer support nurses at the Canberra
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