Page 48 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 15 February 2011
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MS GALLAGHER: Why do you think you have a waiting list policy in place? To make sure people abide by the policy. That is what the policy was originally brought in in 2007 to manage. That is why you have a policy, Mr Seselja. For someone who has been sitting on the beach for the last eight weeks doing nothing—for everyone else who actually has to come to work and actually work—
MR SPEAKER: Ms Gallagher, the question.
MS GALLAGHER: That is what the policy was in place for. I have not had a specific case of where we are incorrectly classifying patients to get them through. I have not been given an example like that—until last week, when the surgeons confirmed it for me.
Mr Seselja: That is outrageous. What do you do? What do you actually do?
MR HANSON: Supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Hanson.
Ms Gallagher: I do a lot more than you, Mr Seselja, because you do nothing.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Ms Gallagher, thank you. Mr Hanson has the floor.
MR HANSON: Minister, if the system is not broken, why are surgeons circumventing it?
MS GALLAGHER: I imagine there are a lot of reasons for that, Mr Hanson, but it is not about the system being broken. Yes, the system can improve, and the system needs to improve, but it is not broken. When you think 10,700 people will have their operations this year in a safe health system with excellent outcomes, I do not know how you can then stand up here and say that system is broken.
Mr Hanson interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Mr Hanson, thank you. This is not a debate.
MS GALLAGHER: For 10,700 people the system is not broken. But, yes, there is room to improve, it needs to improve—certainly our policies and procedures in following them, and in making sure the paper work is done—so that when the next audit comes in—and I have asked for a re-audit of this area—it will tell a very different story about the processes that are in place.
Minister for Health—calls for resignation
MRS DUNNE: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, the president of the Visiting Medical Officers Association has written to the Chief Minister calling for him to dismiss you as health minister. This call was made after your handling of the bullying inquiry and the poor results achieved by you in elective surgery. Minister, do you accept that you have failed to gain the confidence of the VMOs and handled the
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