❓ Mr Trenorden questions the Minister for Health about funding cuts to Aboriginal mental health services following a tragic incident, while the Minister defends the cuts as necessary for redirecting funds to areas of pressing need and addressing systemic inefficiencies.
AnsweredQoN 1156Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to an article in The Australian of 10 October reporting the alleged murder of a 22-year-old pregnant woman by her de facto partner, who was known to have had numerous psychotic episodes. Given that the manager of the local community health service stated that if the region was better resourced to cope with health issues, the death would not have happened, how can the minister justify the removal of funding for essential Aboriginal mental health services? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
I believe the question makes the point that I have been seeking to make in this House over the past several weeks. We need to make sure that our expenditures and services are targeted at providing real services to people in need. Whether that be in the acute hospital environment or direct services to people with mental health conditions in the country, where we are looking at community-based supports for them, that is what we are trying to do. As part of that, we must identify within the health budget the areas of low priority, of duplication and of wastage to address the immediate issues this year, in order that we can free up those moneys so that they can be spent on areas of pressing need. There are great areas of pressing need in this State. In the matter of public interest to follow this question and answer, I will point out some areas into which I want that money to be redirected to make sure that we are meeting the real needs of people. The second thing that we must do is to identify those structural duplications in the system that are costing money, which can be better spent to provide the very services that the Leader of the National Party wants to be provided in the community. That is being done. In the next month Professor Mick Reid will put out a series of discussion papers about ways in which we should restructure the delivery of health services to avoid those duplications and inefficiencies. I have taken steps to rein in this year’s budget so that there is not immense pressure on the important services. In the medium to longer term, we are looking at the way in which we can avoid that structural duplication in the system. We must then redirect all those funds into providing the services and the support that are necessary so that we can deal with the problems of people who are in need of real intervention by the state health system, whether it be because of a mental health problem, because they are in the back of an ambulance going to an emergency department or because they cannot find a bed in a public hospital. That is exactly the process in which we are engaged. I say to the Leader of the National Party that I am confident that the realignment of budgetary and service priorities within the health system will do two things: first, it will give us the services that we desperately need; and second, it will also give us a health system of which we can all be proud because we know that it is meeting real needs in the community.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: I believe the question makes the point that I have been seeking to make in this House over the past several weeks. We need to make sure that our expenditures and services are targeted at providing real services to people in need. Whether that be in the acute hospital environment or direct services to people with mental health conditions in the country, where we are looking at community-based supports for them, that is what we are trying to do. As part of that, we must identify within the health budget the areas of low priority, of duplication and of wastage to address the immediate issues this year, in order that we can free up those moneys so that they can be spent on areas of pressing need. There are great areas of pressing need in this State. In the matter of public interest to follow this question and answer, I will point out some areas into which I want that money to be redirected to make sure that we are meeting the real needs of people. The second thing that we must do is to identify those structural duplications in the system that are costing money, which can be better spent to provide the very services that the Leader of the National Party wants to be provided in the community. That is being done. In the next month Professor Mick Reid will put out a series of discussion papers about ways in which we should restructure the delivery of health services to avoid those duplications and inefficiencies. I have taken steps to rein in this year’s budget so that there is not immense pressure on the important services. In the medium to longer term, we are looking at the way in which we can avoid that structural duplication in the system. We must then redirect all those funds into providing the services and the support that are necessary so that we can deal with the problems of people who are in need of real intervention by the state health system, whether it be because of a mental health problem, because they are in the back of an ambulance going to an emergency department or because they cannot find a bed in a public hospital. That is exactly the process in which we are engaged. I say to the Leader of the National Party that I am confident that the realignment of budgetary and service priorities within the health system will do two things: first, it will give us the services that we desperately need; and second, it will also give us a health system of which we can all be proud because we know that it is meeting real needs in the community.
I believe the question makes the point that I have been seeking to make in this House over the past several weeks. We need to make sure that our expenditures and services are targeted at providing real services to people in need. Whether that be in the acute hospital environment or direct services to people with mental health conditions in the country, where we are looking at community-based supports for them, that is what we are trying to do. As part of that, we must identify within the health budget the areas of low priority, of duplication and of wastage to address the immediate issues this year, in order that we can free up those moneys so that they can be spent on areas of pressing need. There are great areas of pressing need in this State. In the matter of public interest to follow this question and answer, I will point out some areas into which I want that money to be redirected to make sure that we are meeting the real needs of people. The second thing that we must do is to identify those structural duplications in the system that are costing money, which can be better spent to provide the very services that the Leader of the National Party wants to be provided in the community. That is being done. In the next month Professor Mick Reid will put out a series of discussion papers about ways in which we should restructure the delivery of health services to avoid those duplications and inefficiencies. I have taken steps to rein in this year’s budget so that there is not immense pressure on the important services. In the medium to longer term, we are looking at the way in which we can avoid that structural duplication in the system. We must then redirect all those funds into providing the services and the support that are necessary so that we can deal with the problems of people who are in need of real intervention by the state health system, whether it be because of a mental health problem, because they are in the back of an ambulance going to an emergency department or because they cannot find a bed in a public hospital. That is exactly the process in which we are engaged. I say to the Leader of the National Party that I am confident that the realignment of budgetary and service priorities within the health system will do two things: first, it will give us the services that we desperately need; and second, it will also give us a health system of which we can all be proud because we know that it is meeting real needs in the community.
The second thing that we must do is to identify those structural duplications in the system that are costing money, which can be better spent to provide the very services that the Leader of the National Party wants to be provided in the community. That is being done. In the next month Professor Mick Reid will put out a series of discussion papers about ways in which we should restructure the delivery of health services to avoid those duplications and inefficiencies. I have taken steps to rein in this year’s budget so that there is not immense pressure on the important services. In the medium to longer term, we are looking at the way in which we can avoid that structural duplication in the system. We must then redirect all those funds into providing the services and the support that are necessary so that we can deal with the problems of people who are in need of real intervention by the state health system, whether it be because of a mental health problem, because they are in the back of an ambulance going to an emergency department or because they cannot find a bed in a public hospital. That is exactly the process in which we are engaged. I say to the Leader of the National Party that I am confident that the realignment of budgetary and service priorities within the health system will do two things: first, it will give us the services that we desperately need; and second, it will also give us a health system of which we can all be proud because we know that it is meeting real needs in the community.
I have taken steps to rein in this year’s budget so that there is not immense pressure on the important services. In the medium to longer term, we are looking at the way in which we can avoid that structural duplication in the system. We must then redirect all those funds into providing the services and the support that are necessary so that we can deal with the problems of people who are in need of real intervention by the state health system, whether it be because of a mental health problem, because they are in the back of an ambulance going to an emergency department or because they cannot find a bed in a public hospital. That is exactly the process in which we are engaged. I say to the Leader of the National Party that I am confident that the realignment of budgetary and service priorities within the health system will do two things: first, it will give us the services that we desperately need; and second, it will also give us a health system of which we can all be proud because we know that it is meeting real needs in the community.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: I believe the question makes the point that I have been seeking to make in this House over the past several weeks. We need to make sure that our expenditures and services are targeted at providing real services to people in need. Whether that be in the acute hospital environment or direct services to people with mental health conditions in the country, where we are looking at community-based supports for them, that is what we are trying to do. As part of that, we must identify within the health budget the areas of low priority, of duplication and of wastage to address the immediate issues this year, in order that we can free up those moneys so that they can be spent on areas of pressing need. There are great areas of pressing need in this State. In the matter of public interest to follow this question and answer, I will point out some areas into which I want that money to be redirected to make sure that we are meeting the real needs of people. The second thing that we must do is to identify those structural duplications in the system that are costing money, which can be better spent to provide the very services that the Leader of the National Party wants to be provided in the community. That is being done. In the next month Professor Mick Reid will put out a series of discussion papers about ways in which we should restructure the delivery of health services to avoid those duplications and inefficiencies. I have taken steps to rein in this year’s budget so that there is not immense pressure on the important services. In the medium to longer term, we are looking at the way in which we can avoid that structural duplication in the system. We must then redirect all those funds into providing the services and the support that are necessary so that we can deal with the problems of people who are in need of real intervention by the state health system, whether it be because of a mental health problem, because they are in the back of an ambulance going to an emergency department or because they cannot find a bed in a public hospital. That is exactly the process in which we are engaged. I say to the Leader of the National Party that I am confident that the realignment of budgetary and service priorities within the health system will do two things: first, it will give us the services that we desperately need; and second, it will also give us a health system of which we can all be proud because we know that it is meeting real needs in the community.
I believe the question makes the point that I have been seeking to make in this House over the past several weeks. We need to make sure that our expenditures and services are targeted at providing real services to people in need. Whether that be in the acute hospital environment or direct services to people with mental health conditions in the country, where we are looking at community-based supports for them, that is what we are trying to do. As part of that, we must identify within the health budget the areas of low priority, of duplication and of wastage to address the immediate issues this year, in order that we can free up those moneys so that they can be spent on areas of pressing need. There are great areas of pressing need in this State. In the matter of public interest to follow this question and answer, I will point out some areas into which I want that money to be redirected to make sure that we are meeting the real needs of people. The second thing that we must do is to identify those structural duplications in the system that are costing money, which can be better spent to provide the very services that the Leader of the National Party wants to be provided in the community. That is being done. In the next month Professor Mick Reid will put out a series of discussion papers about ways in which we should restructure the delivery of health services to avoid those duplications and inefficiencies. I have taken steps to rein in this year’s budget so that there is not immense pressure on the important services. In the medium to longer term, we are looking at the way in which we can avoid that structural duplication in the system. We must then redirect all those funds into providing the services and the support that are necessary so that we can deal with the problems of people who are in need of real intervention by the state health system, whether it be because of a mental health problem, because they are in the back of an ambulance going to an emergency department or because they cannot find a bed in a public hospital. That is exactly the process in which we are engaged. I say to the Leader of the National Party that I am confident that the realignment of budgetary and service priorities within the health system will do two things: first, it will give us the services that we desperately need; and second, it will also give us a health system of which we can all be proud because we know that it is meeting real needs in the community.
The second thing that we must do is to identify those structural duplications in the system that are costing money, which can be better spent to provide the very services that the Leader of the National Party wants to be provided in the community. That is being done. In the next month Professor Mick Reid will put out a series of discussion papers about ways in which we should restructure the delivery of health services to avoid those duplications and inefficiencies. I have taken steps to rein in this year’s budget so that there is not immense pressure on the important services. In the medium to longer term, we are looking at the way in which we can avoid that structural duplication in the system. We must then redirect all those funds into providing the services and the support that are necessary so that we can deal with the problems of people who are in need of real intervention by the state health system, whether it be because of a mental health problem, because they are in the back of an ambulance going to an emergency department or because they cannot find a bed in a public hospital. That is exactly the process in which we are engaged. I say to the Leader of the National Party that I am confident that the realignment of budgetary and service priorities within the health system will do two things: first, it will give us the services that we desperately need; and second, it will also give us a health system of which we can all be proud because we know that it is meeting real needs in the community.
I have taken steps to rein in this year’s budget so that there is not immense pressure on the important services. In the medium to longer term, we are looking at the way in which we can avoid that structural duplication in the system. We must then redirect all those funds into providing the services and the support that are necessary so that we can deal with the problems of people who are in need of real intervention by the state health system, whether it be because of a mental health problem, because they are in the back of an ambulance going to an emergency department or because they cannot find a bed in a public hospital. That is exactly the process in which we are engaged. I say to the Leader of the National Party that I am confident that the realignment of budgetary and service priorities within the health system will do two things: first, it will give us the services that we desperately need; and second, it will also give us a health system of which we can all be proud because we know that it is meeting real needs in the community.
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