❓ Mr. Board questions the Minister for Health about resource allocation following cuts to mental health programs, particularly regarding community mental health clinics like Joondalup. The Minister outlines a three-step plan involving budget control, strategic vision, and resource reallocation to core services.
AnsweredQoN 1186Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
My question is also about mental health issues. I refer the minister to his cuts to non-government organisations, his subsequent answers to questions without notice and the debate on the matter of public interest this week in which he indicated that the approximately $12 million worth of the cuts to NGOs were primarily because they were not providing clinical outcomes. I draw the minister’s attention in particular to the family early intervention program and the multi-systemic therapy program, both of which have been cancelled by the Government. Mr J.A. McGinty: Neither is an NGO. Mr M.F. BOARD: Okay. That those programs are not delivered by NGOs takes the issue further. (1) Where will the minister allocate the resources he has taken from those programs and will they go into mental health? (2) Will the minister consider allocating additional resources to community mental health clinics, in particular the Joondalup clinic, which is currently turning away one in two patients, most of whom would prefer to have assistance. The clinicians at Joondalup clinic are in need of assistance and are unable to see all the people referred to them because of a lack of resources. (3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
Mr J.A. McGinty: Neither is an NGO. Mr M.F. BOARD: Okay. That those programs are not delivered by NGOs takes the issue further. (1) Where will the minister allocate the resources he has taken from those programs and will they go into mental health? (2) Will the minister consider allocating additional resources to community mental health clinics, in particular the Joondalup clinic, which is currently turning away one in two patients, most of whom would prefer to have assistance. The clinicians at Joondalup clinic are in need of assistance and are unable to see all the people referred to them because of a lack of resources. (3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
Mr M.F. BOARD: Okay. That those programs are not delivered by NGOs takes the issue further. (1) Where will the minister allocate the resources he has taken from those programs and will they go into mental health? (2) Will the minister consider allocating additional resources to community mental health clinics, in particular the Joondalup clinic, which is currently turning away one in two patients, most of whom would prefer to have assistance. The clinicians at Joondalup clinic are in need of assistance and are unable to see all the people referred to them because of a lack of resources. (3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
(1) Where will the minister allocate the resources he has taken from those programs and will they go into mental health? (2) Will the minister consider allocating additional resources to community mental health clinics, in particular the Joondalup clinic, which is currently turning away one in two patients, most of whom would prefer to have assistance. The clinicians at Joondalup clinic are in need of assistance and are unable to see all the people referred to them because of a lack of resources. (3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
(2) Will the minister consider allocating additional resources to community mental health clinics, in particular the Joondalup clinic, which is currently turning away one in two patients, most of whom would prefer to have assistance. The clinicians at Joondalup clinic are in need of assistance and are unable to see all the people referred to them because of a lack of resources. (3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
(3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
(1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
Mr J.A. McGinty: Neither is an NGO. Mr M.F. BOARD: Okay. That those programs are not delivered by NGOs takes the issue further. (1) Where will the minister allocate the resources he has taken from those programs and will they go into mental health? (2) Will the minister consider allocating additional resources to community mental health clinics, in particular the Joondalup clinic, which is currently turning away one in two patients, most of whom would prefer to have assistance. The clinicians at Joondalup clinic are in need of assistance and are unable to see all the people referred to them because of a lack of resources. (3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
Mr M.F. BOARD: Okay. That those programs are not delivered by NGOs takes the issue further. (1) Where will the minister allocate the resources he has taken from those programs and will they go into mental health? (2) Will the minister consider allocating additional resources to community mental health clinics, in particular the Joondalup clinic, which is currently turning away one in two patients, most of whom would prefer to have assistance. The clinicians at Joondalup clinic are in need of assistance and are unable to see all the people referred to them because of a lack of resources. (3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
(1) Where will the minister allocate the resources he has taken from those programs and will they go into mental health? (2) Will the minister consider allocating additional resources to community mental health clinics, in particular the Joondalup clinic, which is currently turning away one in two patients, most of whom would prefer to have assistance. The clinicians at Joondalup clinic are in need of assistance and are unable to see all the people referred to them because of a lack of resources. (3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
(2) Will the minister consider allocating additional resources to community mental health clinics, in particular the Joondalup clinic, which is currently turning away one in two patients, most of whom would prefer to have assistance. The clinicians at Joondalup clinic are in need of assistance and are unable to see all the people referred to them because of a lack of resources. (3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
(3) If the minister is taking money away from preventive programs, will he put it into programs that are providing clinical outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
(1)-(3) There are essentially three steps in the broad view of what we are trying to do in health. The first is to rein in for the first time the blow-out in the budget that is occurring and has occurred every year in recent years in the health system. We have announced a number of cuts to NGOs and other related services that are provided through hospitals. In the next month a range of discussion papers will be issued by Professor Mick Reid, who will paint his view of the future directions of health care in Western Australia and - these are issues I am particularly interested in - the ways in which we can avoid duplication, cut back on waste and make sure that what we do meets the real needs of the public in a coordinated rather than an ad hoc and disjointed way. Frankly, both sides of politics have managed to get into trouble in health in the past decade or so by not having the most efficient delivery of health services in Western Australia. Step one is therefore tightening the budget; step two is taking a broad vision; and step three is about reallocating the resources to meet those real areas of need. I am pleased that the member for Murdoch has identified one area - the mental health clinic in Joondalup. Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
Mr M.F. Board: And others. Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
Mr J.A. McGINTY: Sure. An enormous range of services to my mind are core services that must be provided. I referred during the course of the debate to cancer services. Currently it is totally unacceptable that people at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital must wait half a year for radiation therapy after having undergone cancer surgery if their treatment is not urgent. I will not be a Minister for Health who sits in this place while those waiting times prevail. That to me is a core service. Funds will be directed to address that problem, as they will in each of the other essential areas of operation. I make that comment in the light of the observation made by the member for Murdoch during the course of the MPI that we debated on Tuesday. He said that if we were to start on a program of cutting resources to tertiary hospitals we would enjoy the support of the Opposition. I thank the member for that indication of support, because that is exactly the process in which we are currently engaged day in and day out with the teaching hospitals. We are saying to them that theirs is the area in which a budget blow-out has overwhelmingly occurred in the past few years and that they must address their budgets, tighten their management, make sure their priorities are right and cut out those things in tertiary hospitals that are not essential to service delivery. That is the very process in which we are engaged. It is being done with one simple objective in mind; that is, to be able to reallocate resources that incur wastage, have a low priority or are duplicated, into meeting the very areas of need that the member for Murdoch and I have identified and, I am sure, every member of this House can identify as areas of core need in their electorates that are not currently met, and we will meet them.
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