Questions without notice and ministers statements
Health system
Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:03): My question is to the Minister for Health. A whistleblower from Northern Hospital has stated that ambulance offload times were doctored up by an hour in order to falsely meet government targets. What specific steps has the minister taken to satisfy herself that this falsification of ambulance transfer data is not widespread across the Victorian hospital system?
Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (14:03): I am very happy to answer the question from the Leader of the Opposition. As you would expect, I expect that all of our hospitals and our healthcare workers, who we all hold in the highest of regard, attend to their work with diligence and with integrity at all times. That is why the Department of Health is commissioning an external audit of data reporting to ensure the robustness of that data at all times.
Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:04): Minister, falsified hospital performance data can have life-and-death consequences as well as serious implications for public trust and public safety.
Members interjecting.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I need to be able to hear the question from the Leader of the Opposition. Let us get past the first question before we lose people.
Brad BATTIN: Will the minister now commit –
Members interjecting.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Laverton is warned.
Brad BATTIN: Will the minister now commit to a fully independent and transparent investigation that will be released to the community to determine the true extent of the data manipulation?
Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (14:05): The Leader of the Opposition was clearly not listening to my earlier answer, where I indicated that we would undertake an external audit.
Members interjecting.
Mary-Anne THOMAS: Just listen for a moment, thanks. As I said, we will undertake an external audit, and we will release that information once it is completed.