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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-09-09 Daily Xml
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Women's and Children's Hospital

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:44): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing regarding hospitals. Is the Women's and Children's Hospital 'a bit overstaffed'? Does the minister regard concerned doctors at the Women's and Children's Hospital as 'agitating for more money'? What is the minister's response to his chief executive making these insulting comments about doctors?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:45): I'm tempted to immediately be distracted and ask the opposition to consider whether their behaviour in the Budget and Finance Committee is respectful of people who are employed to—

The PRESIDENT: But you won't.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —serve the people of this state. My understanding is that my chief executive made comments earlier this week that reflected the fact that the Women's and Children's Hospital network has a relatively high level of staffing, in part at least due to its size. In other words, if you like, it suffers from not having access to economies of scale. This point—

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: So you think it is a bit overstaffed.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Excuse me, Mr President, I would just like to answer the question.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Scriven might like to listen to the answer and then maybe she might have another supplementary question. The minister has the call.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Thank you, Mr President. I was trying to show Ms Scriven the respect—

The PRESIDENT: The Leader of the Opposition might like to listen too.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —to give an answer to her question, but apparently she wasn't willing to give me that respect in asking her question. The point, as I said, that the honourable chief executive of my department was making—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: He certainly is very honourable. Far more honourable than the people opposite and he demonstrates that every day and they demonstrate how dishonourable they are every day.

The PRESIDENT: I remind the minister that—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I remind the minister that pointing is out of order.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Thank you, Mr President. I will go back to the point I was making. Let me reiterate that. The point that I understood the chief executive to be making is that the Women's and Children's Health Network has a relatively high level of staffing due to its size. That point, honestly made, was recognised by one of the leading clinicians at that hospital, Dr Michael Yung, on ABC radio yesterday. He said:

If he means that compared to a large state we have more clinicians than they do per patient, that is the consequence of the lack of economy of scale of the hospital. In other words, you have to have a certain standing number of staff to maintain our service no matter how many patients you have got.

Dr Yung goes on. I respect the fact that Dr Yung took Dr McGowan's words as honestly uttered, unlike the opposition.

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