Page 188 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 26 February 2014

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way we operate our hospitals to make sure that those people who are able to be discharged from hospital are discharged quickly. That means we are working with the doctors around discharge practices to ensure that people who are able to go home can go home, freeing up beds for people to be able to move out of the emergency department.

I will also be hosting an aged care roundtable with Minister Rattenbury, I think in the next ten days. As we have seen, the closure of Ginninderra Gardens has had a very, very big impact on our inpatient beds being used by nursing home-type patients—more than we have had in the past. You can see how a decision of one organisation then flows on and impacts the public health system.

There are a range of things underway. The results fluctuate in terms of improvement in reaching the NEAT target, but overall we are heading in the right direction, and that is a credit to the staff who are working very, very hard to deliver those results.

MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Hanson.

MR HANSON: Minister, can you advise the Assembly of what ongoing action you have been taking to ensure there has been no further fabrication of emergency department results since the scandal of 2012?

MS GALLAGHER: I provided a full update to the public accounts committee recently. Perhaps I can provide the same update on the recommendations coming out of the Auditor-General’s report. There have been some changes in relation to the data management and data integrity systems within Health. We now have a senior officer who is managing the data integrity. I get those reports regularly. There has been no other suggestion that there is anything wrong with the quality of the data coming through the hospital.

MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Hanson.

MR HANSON: Minister, could you advise what the current bed occupancy percentage is at TCH?

MS GALLAGHER: It fluctuated during the year. From the beginning of the year it was in the mid- to high 80s. The last week has been incredibly busy and it is in the order of around 95 per cent.

Environment—water quality

MS BERRY: My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development. Minister, you made an announcement today about a major funding boost to improve water quality in the ACT. Can you tell the Assembly more about this funding and what it will be used for?

MR CORBELL: I thank Ms Berry for the question. I am very pleased to advise the Assembly that the government has secured an agreement with the federal government that will see up to $85 million worth of funding to help clean up Canberra’s lakes and waterways.


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