Thursday, 12 May 2022

Elective surgery

Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): My question is to the Minister for Health. Matthew from Melbourne’s south-east had a history of congenital heart disease and a long history of severe cardiac disease. He was told in February 2020 he required vital surgery. Throughout 2020 and 2021 his condition continually deteriorated, and the operation kept being cancelled. He finally had surgery 16 months later, in June 2021. Sadly he died two days after the operation. He was 43. Even though he had surgery, it ended up being too late to save his life. I ask: how many more people like Matthew have tragically died because their surgery has been continually postponed?

Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (14:20): Can I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question, and can I counsel the Leader of the Opposition to not conflate clinical and medical decisions and circumstances that are rightly the purview of the coroner for bait in this place or indeed any other place. I have no doubt that the circumstances in terms of the outcome that the honourable member points to may well have occurred, although I am not briefed in detail on that, but it is not for the Leader of the Opposition to assert, or indeed for any of us to assert, the cause and effect that he points to in his question. But I can address the issue more broadly, which I think the honourable member’s question touches on, which goes to elective surgery.

We know that during the one-in-100-year event of the global pandemic in Victoria, in Australia and in comparable jurisdictions right across the world our health services had to make priority decisions around keeping communities safe, keeping workforces safe and keeping services functional to the point that they could under pressures that they had never previously experienced in the living memory or history of the services involved. That is why, as we slowly, cautiously and appropriately come out of this one-in-100-year global pandemic, this government is serious about how we respond to those pressures, particularly when it comes to delivering surgery in a timely and appropriate manner, which is why our most recent budget contained within its $12 billion COVID recovery plan a $1.5 billion investment to boost surgical activity right across the state. Part of that addresses the issue around deferred care, which the honourable member’s question picks up. That involves the delivery of, for instance, eight public rapid-access hubs, it involves the bringing together into the public system of what is at the moment Frankston Private to deliver over 9000 further elective surgery outcomes and it also involves working with the private sector hospitals to increase their share of public patients—in a joint approach, I have got to say, with some substantial cooperation with our friends in New South Wales, given that they are facing precisely the same issues. So some of us work collaboratively in this space— (Time expired)

Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:23): In referring to the postponement of surgeries, on Friday senior specialist and leading St Vincent’s physician Dr Stephen Parnis said that Victorian emergency departments are a dangerous place to be in, labelling their current condition as utterly unacceptable. Dr Parnis said that without doubt—

Ms Allan interjected.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the House!

Mr GUY: we are losing lives and we could have saved and should have saved lives. Why has the government—

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! When the house comes to order.

Mr GUY: Dr Parnis said that without doubt we are losing lives that we could have saved and should have saved. Why has the government failed Victorians, people like Matthew, in providing the necessary support to both patients and doctors which, in the words of senior physicians, is leading to the deaths of Victorians?

Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (14:24): Can I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question, and can I join him in acknowledging the great work of Dr Parnis, who is a leading physician in our—

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I am going to ask the minister to stop. I am just going to remind the house that this question in its essence—

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Community Sport and the member for Euroa can leave the chamber for the period of 1 hour.

Minister for Community Sport and member for Euroa withdrew from chamber.

The SPEAKER: I am going to remind members that this question in its substance relates to a man who lost his life, and I need to be able to hear the minister’s answer. Members should allow the minister to answer the question in silence.

Mr FOLEY: I join with the Leader of the Opposition in acknowledging the outstanding leadership that Dr Parnis has brought to a range of public hospital services and indeed broader governance of the medical profession over some substantial time. But I also know that this is the same Dr Parnis that was hugely critical of some who called for the removal of restrictions at the height of the global pandemic. He called for a science-based and evidence-based approach to it and particularly was critical of those who would have, as the quote was at the time, a ‘let it rip’ strategy which placed at risk the lives of people. This is the same doctor. We supported his comments then and we support his comments now. I want to wish that doctor particular goodwill over his three-month break.