Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Health system

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (12:04): My question is to the Minister for Health. 8664 Victorians were removed from the elective surgery waitlist in the first quarter of this year. How many of these patients were removed because they lost their lives?

Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Medical Research) (12:04): As this house well knows, our health system has been under unprecedented pressure as a consequence of the COVID pandemic. This has been experienced by health systems not just here in Victoria but indeed around the nation and across the world. But only our government is investing in a $12 billion pandemic repair plan, and what we have seen as a consequence of the repair plan has been the stabilisation of the numbers of those that are on our waitlists for planned surgery. There is still more to do. There is absolutely no doubt about that, but that is why our government is investing in the healthcare workers that we need. It is why we are making it free to study nursing and midwifery. It is why we are delivering –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on standing order 58, this question was a direct question. It did ask for the number of people that have passed away of the 8664 that were removed from the waiting list. A minute into the answer the minister has not come to that question, and I would ask you to bring the minister to that important question.

The SPEAKER: The minister is being relevant to the question that was asked.

Mary-Anne THOMAS: Thank you very much, Speaker. I appreciate your guidance. As I was saying, we have seen some pleasing results with the waitlist, but this is as a consequence of the changes that our government is implementing. It is as a consequence of the dedication of our highly trained clinicians and nursing staff, those that are working with people on the waitlist both before and after surgery, including of course our highly trained allied healthcare staff. So I look forward to continuing to release the data in relation to the waiting list for planned surgery – something I might say that those on the other side never did. They never did. Only Labor is transparent –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister knows not to debate the question. This was a serious question about people who have lost their lives, and I would ask you to bring the minister back directly, which the minister is required to be, to the question.

The SPEAKER: The minister will come back to the question and not debate the question.

Mary-Anne THOMAS: Thank you, Speaker. Again I will comment that we are seeing some pleasing results with our waitlists as a consequence of the investments that our government is making. We are seeing stabilisation in the numbers.

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (12:07): One in four people waiting for elective surgery at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute were removed from elective surgery waitlists for the first quarter of this year. How many of these patients were removed because they lost their lives?

Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Medical Research) (12:08): This question gives me an opportunity to once again remind the house, and thank our hardworking healthcare workers, that all of category 1 – that is, the sickest patients – are treated within the clinically recommended time frames and that that statistic had been maintained throughout the peak period of the pandemic. That is only because of the dedication of our healthcare workers. I will take this opportunity to say that every –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this question specifically asked about the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute. The minister has not even come close to answering that question or referring to the institute and the number of people that passed away at that particular institute, and I would ask you to bring the minister, again, back to the question.

The SPEAKER: Order! The question also referred to waiting lists, and the minister is being relevant to the question.

Mary-Anne THOMAS: Thank you, Speaker. I will just make the point once again: the sickest patients in Victoria have always been treated within the clinically recommended time frames.