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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-11-20 Daily Xml
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WOMEN'S AND CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, BREAST CANCER

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:15): My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister now conduct a survey of the workforce at the Women's and Children's Hospital to ascertain the incidence of breast cancer? Last Thursday I asked the minister to provide the number of cases of breast cancer in the workforce during the last five years that have been identified. Since that time the opposition has received a number of further calls from nurses and former nurses who have suffered breast cancer, and one in particular who identified that she was one of three cases out of a unit of 14 working at the hospital.

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (15:15): Once again, in a most despicable way the Deputy Leader of the Opposition is trying to create a sense of panic amongst people who work at the Women's and Children's Hospital. That is what she is trying to do. That is the absolute essence of what she is trying to do. Let us not be under any illusions about it: she wants to panic women who are working at the Women's and Children's Hospital. Let me give the house—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Just button up you lips for a moment, Ms Chapman.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Sir, let me advise the house the following. Last Thursday, as the member said, she did raise an allegation, and I quote: 'That a very high incidence of breast cancer exists amongst the workforce at the Women's and Children's Hospital.' In doing so, the member for Bragg chose to link the allegation to the high profile case of a cancer cluster at the ABC headquarters in Brisbane and to the general condition of the buildings at the Women's and Children's Hospital. She was trying to make a connection by saying what she said to suggest that the women at the Women's and Children's Hospital are in danger, and she drew the parallel with the ABC headquarters case in Brisbane—a despicable and disgraceful act in my opinion.

It is reasonable to raise concerns about the incidence of cancer in the community, but it is best to do this in a way that is not recklessly irresponsible and does not create panic amongst people. For example, the member for Flinders wrote to me with concerns of a high rate of cancer in parts of her electorate. She wrote to me. That allowed the Department of Health to properly investigate the concerns and to be able to provide a comprehensive response to her.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: That's the way some people do it.

The Hon. J.D. HILL: That is the way some people do it. I am pleased to report that an analysis of the facts has shown that there is no statistically significant difference between the Eyre Peninsula cancer profile, in either males or females, and that for the whole of the state. However, there were some individual cancers that were found to have a higher rate of incidence, for example skin and lip cancers, which you would expect to see in a predominantly rural area, while others such as lung and kidney cancers were lower. I have written to the member for Flinders to give her that information. But once the allegation was made, once the request was made, the Department of Health properly investigated, as you would expect it to do.

In relation to the member for Bragg's allegation regarding the Women's and Children's Hospital, I am advised that there has been one report by a member of staff regarding breast cancer amongst staff working in the Queen Victoria Building, which was the building the member for Bragg referred to. This report was made anonymously. Importantly, and members should note, the Queen Victoria Building, which is the one the member referred to on Thursday, was constructed in the 1990s, unlike the older Gilbert and Good Friday Buildings, which were the subject of—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Listen, member for Bragg.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: I will repeat that, Mr Speaker; it is important to understand this. The member in her question last week tried to draw a connection between a report into the conditions in a particular set of buildings at the hospital and the alleged incidence of breast cancer. The point is that the Queen Victoria Building was constructed in the 1990s, unlike the older Gilbert and Good Friday buildings, which were the subject of the report that the member for Bragg erroneously referred to in her question. I am advised that it is difficult to accurately determine—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, Deputy Leader of the Opposition!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: I am advised that it is difficult to accurately determine how many cases of breast cancer have occurred at the site over the past five years. Something like 350 women work there at any one time and, of course, over a period of five years people come and go. Cancer rate numbers are not routinely kept by employers, because of the strictly confidential nature of a person's health. That would be true of this place as of any other place; we do not know who has what illnesses at any given time.

However, of course, I am concerned to ensure that there is no ongoing unease amongst the workforce of that hospital—I must say, an unease that has been increased by the irresponsible way in which the member asked the questions. Therefore, an independent review will be undertaken to determine the breast cancer rate of female staff at the Queen Victoria Building at the Women's and Children's Hospital.

Given the sensitive and confidential nature of this review, ethics approval will be required on the approach and methodology used. The review may take some time, given the complex and sensitive nature of the task. I want to emphasise that the review is being undertaken out of an abundance of caution and to remove any doubt that may now exist amongst the medical, nursing and administrative staff at that hospital.

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