Page 2605 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 5 June 2012
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MS GALLAGHER: So 114 beds were reduced from the public hospital system in the lead-up to 2001. We have now increased that. We had 670 beds in 2001; we now have 934 beds. That is an additional 264 beds that have been funded over the term of this government. In addition to that, staffing of the beds—we have seen our health workforce grow by 58 per cent. The number of salaried medical staff has grown by 131 per cent; we now employ 671 doctors. The number of nursing staff has increased by 68 per cent; we now employ 2,140 nurses across the system. In terms of allied health professionals, they have grown from 316 in 2001 to 593 in 2010-11, an 88 per cent increase. This is what you have got to do. This is the hard work in building up the health system—building up the capacity of your workforce, building up your bed capacity, delivering services that have never ever been dreamed of in a place like the ACT, and making the ACT public health system the envy of the country, not, as the Liberals would have it, out there with their propaganda, saying it is the worst in the country.
MR HARGREAVES: A supplementary, Mr Speaker.
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Hargreaves has a supplementary.
MR HARGREAVES: Minister, what projects have already been completed as part of the government’s health infrastructure program and what projects are underway?
MS GALLAGHER: The government has allocated around—well, I will wait; I predict that the Treasurer may have some more announcements in this area. But we have seen massive investments in infrastructure projects. We have completed the surgical assessment and planning unit, the new mental health assessment unit, the adult mental health unit, the new car park, additional operating theatres, the sleep lab, the walk-in centre, Calvary’s intensive care unit, a high dependency and coronary care unit, and the new CT-PET suite at Canberra Hospital. The women’s and children’s hospital is due for completion in the next couple of months. The Capital Region Cancer Centre is well underway, and we are very much looking forward to having that open as a new centre of cancer treatment and research excellence.
Our community health centres at Belconnen and Gungahlin are well underway now, an upgraded Tuggeranong community health centre is due to start soon, and a new sterilising service at Canberra Hospital. The Ngunnawal bush healing farm is now out for final consultation on the design. We have planning for the new north side hospital well underway. These, again, are the signs of a government that is prepared to invest and make health a priority and make Canberra even stronger, and we will not stand for the attacks by the Liberal Party. If you are going to attack me, attack me; that is fine. But do not attack the hard working staff of the public health system.
Mr Hanson: You attacked the doctors.
MS GALLAGHER: You attack them, Mr Hanson, by telling them they run the worst health system in the country. It is not me providing the operations; it is the doctors and nurses. And your ad will offend all of them.
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