Page 2902 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 14 August 2018
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14.1% for nursing and 14.1% for hotel and allied health staff and consequently the service has a reliance on VMOs, locum medical staff and agency nurses. At particular times, such as over Christmas and New Year, these staff shortages are inevitably more pronounced as agency nurse supply dries up. The skills shortage needs to be seen in a broader context that could be considered to be a ‘perfect storm’ that, if not attended to, could contribute to organizational risk and a decrease in patient safety. The broader context includes:
(a) Budget constraint—with a savings and efficiency target of 9% over 2 years.
I think I need to put on the record that I think I used the term “cut in budget” in my comments this morning. I am not sure what Mrs Kikkert said, but the issue raised by the reviewers was a savings and efficiency target of 9.2 per cent over two years. The review continues:
(b) Steadily increasing demand for mental health services via the ED … there was an increase in the order of 8.5%.
(c) A steadily reducing average length of stay (ALOS)—which is directly related to the increased demand for beds … and an occupancy rate higher than 100 per cent in the Acute Mental Health Unit.
For the information of Mr Rattenbury and other members, the budget constraints that Mrs Kikkert and I were speaking about were those highlighted in the Independent external review of mental health inpatient services within ACT Health, which are a savings and efficiency target of nine per cent over two years. If there is not a savings and efficiency target, I think Mr Rattenbury needs to come down here and say that there is not, and why it is that the reviewers who conducted this review in May this year thought that there was.
Australian Federation of Korean Communities
MS LEE (Kurrajong) (5.48): In November last year, the Korean communities in each state and territory came together to form a national network, and the Australian Federation of Korean Communities, the AFKC, was born. It was a great pleasure for me to be invited to address the new executive, and an even greater pleasure that the inaugural meeting of that new executive, last November, was held in my hometown of Canberra. It was fitting that the AFKC’s first national forum be held right here in the heart of Australia’s capital also.
Over a number of months, I have worked with and have seen the enormous efforts of Canberra-based executive vice-president, Philip Ahn, and Canberra-based committee member Hun-Jae Jung in organising the future leaders forum which was held on Saturday evening at an iconic Canberra location, the great hall at University House at the Australian National University.
The forum brought together about 50 young Korean-Australians, mostly from Canberra but from all around Australia, who contribute to our world as doctors, lawyers, engineers, plumbers, labourers, accountants, musicians, dentists, university lecturers, small business owners and public servants. The forum also brought together
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