Page 1679 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 15 May 2019
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Arthritis ACT’s therapeutic hydrotherapy program. This is a huge increase from last November when the figure was 383. There is a very rapid growth in demand, Madam Speaker. We need to understand what is causing this. We are not getting old at that rate. There are many other mechanisms at play.
All the therapy staff operating under the aegis of Arthritis ACT are Allied Health trained and a supervisor is trained in pool rescue and CPR, at a minimum. All supervisors and staff have working with vulnerable people authorities. For personal safety, no more than 12 people are in a session, and that includes carers who might need to be in the pool to be with someone who needs more assistance. In the case of Arthritis ACT, the pool is used for 20 hours a week. This is the Woden Hospital site pool.
The minister knew this and has known this for some time, but she said on radio on 9 April that it was needed only for 10 hours a week. When Arthritis ACT sent a text to the presenter for the program to correct the figure, the minister dismissed it in a not very respectful way.
The University of Canberra hydrotherapy pool has a range of design problems, including the air conditioning. You find this all the time: it might be heating the place but there is a waft of air that goes across the pool. If you are wet and you have air moving over you, even if it is warm air, it makes you feel cold. There are problems there in relation to the air conditioning.
There is the movement logistics of pool users and even accessing the key has been a problem, because there are restricted hours. Other hydrotherapy pools around Canberra, such as Black Mountain and Calvary John James, have a range of problems. In the case of Calvary John James, it has been said to me that it is not deep enough for some people, and it is often too cold.
I have had feedback through Mrs Jones from a member of the public who is in the gallery today who has said after last night’s experience at John James she is not going to waste her time going back again because it is not suitable. Arthritis ACT has done an audit of other suitable but privately owned pools in the ACT, but the government does not seem to have an idea about that.
In conversation with the minister in the chamber earlier on, the minister has made some very laudable comments. I will speak on the amendments about that in a moment. I think that the minister is not very well informed about what is happening in the hydrotherapy space. Arthritis ACT has secure funding under Ausport funding grant programs. This will enable Arthritis ACT to provide an extra 12 sessions per week to an additional 120 clients. Any decision to close the pool will put this in jeopardy.
The most important thing is that I came in here with a speech to talk about the jeopardy that we were putting people in in Canberra. We have seen from the circulated amendment from the minister that there are changes afoot. I congratulate the minister for listening to the community and agreeing to come part of the way. I still believe this is part of the way. I think that the community requires from you—there are members of the arthritis community in the gallery—the minister, a real
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