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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-06-19 Daily Xml
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Modbury Hospital

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:35): I have a final supplementary, Mr President.

The PRESIDENT: You're promising?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Given that the minister told parliament in his very first question time that he had read and fully understood every one of his incoming government briefs, can he inform the chamber what the safety concerns are that were raised that had his department saying that appropriate levels of clinical safety may not be achieved with the establishment of a stand-alone HDU? What was the nature of the concerns about safety?

The PRESIDENT: You've asked the question. Minister.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: It's a fairly long-winded supplementary.

The PRESIDENT: Hon. Mr Ridgway, we don't need commentary from you.

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition, do not engage in conversation with the minister, and the minister shouldn't be baiting you. Minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:35): Thank you, Mr President. I suppose, in some ways, hypothetical questions are out of order because they are asking you to look forward to things that haven't yet happened, but what the Leader of the Opposition is asking me to do is to go back and think what was in the minds of the briefers when they wrote that brief.

One concern that I suspect was in their minds was the report of Dr Andrew Burston, which was a report of an intensivist in relation to the high dependency unit services. He had concerns about the safety of the Modbury high dependency unit under the former government. Those concerns—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: What were the concerns? You said you understood your briefs.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Let the minister answer.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Those concerns of Dr Burston—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: If it was not safe, you would have taken notice, I am sure.

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition, restrain yourself. The minister is attempting to answer your own question.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The concerns of Dr Burston related to resourcing. He said that he had concerns in relation to the high dependency unit being operated by the former Labor government at the Modbury Hospital because of resourcing. We believe that a properly resourced high dependency unit with proper clinical governance and an appropriate level of service mix will be safe, and we are certainly not alone in that.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: Because you know better than your departmental advice.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Scriven is on her feet, Leader of the Opposition. Allow one of your colleagues to ask their question in silence.

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