Page 1660 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 13 May 2015
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Fast forward to 2015 and the reference design for the University of Canberra hospital has been released. Significant and transparent planning processes have occurred to get to this point which will see a facility with 140 overnight inpatient beds and 75 day beds. We have undertaken a comprehensive program of planning and review. Planning of public health services is undertaken on a territory-wide basis. It takes into account a wide range of issues, including cross-border and private industry activity.
Projects occurring under the health infrastructure program reflect this planning of a public health system inclusive of our tertiary acute hospital at Canberra Hospital, a general acute hospital at Calvary public, the planned subacute hospital at the University of Canberra, a secure mental health facility and other facilities such as hospice facilities at Clare Holland House. We have a comprehensive framework to deliver health infrastructure.
Let me turn to the issue of the University of Canberra public hospital specifically. In February 2011 the options analysis “ACT public hospital services—delivery of additional hospital beds” was conducted by the ACT Department of Treasury and ACT Health. It was released for public consultation. Following extensive community consultation and discussions with the Little Company of Mary Health Care who, of course, are responsible for the operation of Calvary public, the territory made the decision to proceed with a new subacute hospital.
This option provided for the capacity of 400 additional beds across the ACT public hospital network in total, comprising Canberra Hospital, the new UCPH and Calvary, with clear delineation of the role of each hospital to occur. It was in this early options document that the proposal of 200 beds for the subacute hospital was identified but, I reiterate, the type and mix had yet to be determined.
Hospital planning is not a dark art. Projecting the needs for health care involves looking back at previous service provision and looking forward to how health care and our health system will change. We have been robust in making these assessments. For example, we subjected our assessments on the need for beds to a review by the New South Wales Ministry of Health in 2008. Work on estimating and projecting subacute care demand was adapted from the review undertaken by New South Wales Health in 2008, in addition to the engagement of experts by the ACT directly.
Let me turn now to the planning assumptions for the University of Canberra public hospital. To progress planning for the hospital, the government engaged Associate Professor Christopher Poulos to work with key stakeholders, including clinicians, consumers and care representatives on what the best mix of beds should be. This work sought to identify services best located at the subacute facility and how these could be best networked with the acute Calvary and Canberra Hospital services and community health services.
Professor Poulos is the Hammond Chair in Positive Ageing and Care at the University of New South Wales School of Public Health and Community Medicine. He concluded in his reports that the identified service model for the University of Canberra hospital would support existing ACT Health clinical service plans and reflect commonwealth government reforms in subacute care, and he identified the role of UCPH as a subacute facility.
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