New Health Minister Dr Marisa Paterson has her hands tied. The new Deputy Chief Minister, Rachel Stephen-Smith, has retained ‘health infrastructure’. Where does the stupidity end, wonders political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.

In what other city in the world would the leaders determine that a 50-year-old hospital needs replacement? 

With great fanfare the ACT Government took over the then Calvary Hospital just three years ago. Now it has decided the hospital is inadequate.

Grand buildings, ribbon cutting and fanfare openings are great politics. However, what the Canberra community really wishes to see is that health has adequate staffing to meet the needs of a growing and ageing community.

New Health Minister Dr Marisa Paterson has her hands tied. The new Deputy Chief Minister, Rachel Stephen-Smith, has retained “health infrastructure”. Where does the stupidity end? But at least Ms Stephen-Smith will be able to wield the scissors.

The Canberra Hospital at Woden Valley has not been replaced. It has been modified and extended many times over the intervening years to meet changing demands. Built as Woden Valley Hospital in 1973, it is just three years older than the then Calvary Public Hospital when it opened in 1976.

The Calvary Hospital also saw upgrades in its time under the stewardship of the Little Company of Mary. The Emergency Department is just one example.

Big building projects are a hallmark of the Barr Government. This government, even subconsciously, must see them as a legacy issue. 

As an example, imagine the impact of the huge spend on light rail on concrete, rails and overhead wires being put instead into free public transport!

The trouble is, as much as free transport would have assisted ordinary folk and meant fewer cars on the road, there would have been no infrastructure legacy.

It is a similar story with hospital services. The proposed $1.5billion spend over the next decade is designed to improve facilities – especially for those living in the Northern areas of Canberra. Rachel Stephen-Smith does not want to let that go – it is her idea of how to improve health.

The predictable problem will be having appropriate personnel to staff the hospital. CityNews columnists Jon Stanhope and Khalid Ahmed have constantly outlined the challenges of the recurrent health budget on many occasions. Their insights fall on deaf ears.

Coming to my attention recently was a case in pediatric orthopedic surgery that provides a serious concern. My understanding is that Canberra has just one semi-retired specialist pediatric orthopedic surgeon who generously attends Canberra Hospital two days per week.

The recent budget announced: “There will be funding to expand the Pediatric Fracture Clinic at Canberra Hospital. A dedicated pediatric orthopedic service will also be established”.

The reason given was “these services will improve care closer to home for children with bone and soft tissue conditions”. My reading of this statement is that children with serious fractures currently need to be sent to hospitals in NSW.

It is just one example of inadequate staffing, and let’s hope it can be addressed – if the new minister can find the staff. In recent years it has been apparent that Dr Paterson will face these challenges in cardiac, orthopedics and other areas of the Canberra Hospital system.

Waiting times for elective surgery, as identified by ACT Health, provide an insight into the lack of staffing. In Category 1, that deals with urgent patients, the ACT does very well. Category 2 patients, who should be seen within 90 days, are a different story with around 400 people overdue. In orthopedics alone, there are more than 180 people waiting beyond what is clinically appropriate.

Category 3 illustrates the real problem of staffing in ACT Hospitals. This is surgery that ought to be carried out within a year of being put on the waiting list. More than 800 people fall into this category. Orthopedics and Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery lead this category accounting for nearly 600 patients.

Despite the recent announcement of an additional 1000 surgeries, these figures have hardly altered.

The needs are clear. Nice new buildings can provide a delightful workspace. However, it is adequate staffing and efficient delivery of services that have a critical impact on how long people wait for appropriate hospital treatment.

In 2023 there was a fundamental question for the then Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith when taking over the Calvary Public Hospital that was operating efficiently and effectively. Why do it when you are having so much trouble running The Canberra Hospital?

And now she retains hospital buildings. Rachel Stephen-Smith, let go of health and give Dr Paterson a fair go. Let her rethink the expenditure of over $1.5billion building a new hospital when there is so much trouble staffing and managing the current one.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.

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