Page 940 - Week 03 - Thursday, 21 March 2019
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point of order I took last night was not in relation to a substantive motion about the capacity of a member; this one is.
MADAM SPEAKER: I am going to let it go this time, but not so much on your advice, Mrs Dunne. In debates and in interjections, can we up the level a little bit, not be personal, not mock people, and show a level of regard and respect?
MR COE: Thank you, Madam Speaker; I very much hope that those opposite take your advice on board. It is so important that, rather than hide behind staff, she should show some leadership and actually be accountable for the decisions that she makes. That includes the decision to not be informed. That includes the decision to avoid detail. It includes the decision to have plausible deniability.
We all know that the doctors, nurses, clinicians and administrators—all of the staff in the health network—do a magnificent job. We honour them. We thank them for all that they do. They do it in very difficult circumstances. Just a couple of weeks ago, a family member went to the emergency department on advice from a GP, and they were seen reasonably quickly. They then went into the next waiting room, where it took a fair amount of time to be seen. There were a lot of other people in that second waiting room, waiting to be seen. There was one boy in that second waiting room who waited for hours to be treated for his football injury—a child; hours.
That was not because the staff were not working hard; quite the opposite. The staff were absolutely flat out. Conversations could be heard: “There just isn’t another doctor available.” “I’m so sorry, there’s no doctor.” “There’s no doctor.” Apologies kept being made.
Can you imagine working in a workplace where you are constantly apologising for things beyond your control? That is the story we hear so often about our health network: that the staff do a magnificent job but they are simply not backed up with the numbers, with the people and with the resources that they desperately need. It is not simply a matter of spending more money. Obviously, that would help, but it is also a matter of making sure that the money is going to where it is needed most.
To all the doctors and nurses, the staff at the hospital, who are watching this debate right now, I thank you for all that you do for Canberra, because it is admired by everyone. Everyone knows a magnificent story of somebody who was treated with the most extreme professionalism that can be imagined. And we also know the same stories where those same people are absolutely flat out.
Imagine working in a place where you feel guilty for taking a lunch break. Imagine working in a place where you avoid a toilet break because the workload is so intense. Imagine a place where you frequently cancel having family dinners because you feel compelled to do a double shift. Imagine a place where you do not take annual leave and you do not take leave during school holidays, because you know that that would leave your colleagues under too much stress. Imagine a place where, despite all of this, there were not regular feedback channels to pass it on.
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