Health system
Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:09): My question is to the Premier. Last sitting week, on Tuesday, the case of Mark from Bendigo was raised with the Premier in Parliament. Mark was here in the gallery when his concerns were raised, and his details were then passed on to the Premier’s office. Mark remains in constant pain awaiting spinal surgery. As of just after 1 o’clock today he had still heard nothing from anyone in government. Why, after more than two weeks, with full details provided to the Premier and Mark sitting here in this chamber, is Mark yet to receive any follow-up from the Premier or his government about his chronic and painful health condition?
Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (14:10): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. I recall the question being asked, and I will make inquiries to my office as to what has occurred there. Over the course of many weeks now, many questions have been asked in relation to individual patients. Some of those individuals have been identified and sufficient information has been provided to my office, the Minister for Health’s office or the department. I can assure the honourable Leader of the Opposition that the advice I have, as of yesterday, is that every single patient, where sufficient information has been provided to identify who that person is and what health service is treating them, has been contacted by the Department of Health or the health service or the Minister for Health’s office. The Minister for Health confirmed this yesterday in relation to another question that was asked.
On the specifics of this particular person—Mark—I remember the question being asked, and my commitment to the Leader of the Opposition is I will make inquiries at the end of question time and I will furnish him with whatever relevant information I can.
Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:11): Mark has already waited 621 days for surgery that was meant to be done in 90. He has now waited another 14. As stated, Mark was here in the gallery, here in the chamber, here in the Parliament, where his details were provided in full, on his health condition, to the government.
Members interjecting.
Mr GUY: They were. With details of this case, this man’s painful plight and this man’s health details—and the man sitting here in the Parliament—being given to the Premier, what, if anything, has the Premier done to get Mark the surgery he so desperately needs?
Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (14:11): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his supplementary question. The advice that I have—and there might be some confusion, given that the first name of this person has been provided and I am not sure but there could be more than one person called Mark—
Members interjecting.
Mr ANDREWS: Well, the advice I have is in absolute contradiction to what the Leader of the Opposition has just claimed. The advice I have is that we have not been given the surname of this individual, we have not been given sufficient details—
Members interjecting.
Mr ANDREWS: Well, it might come as some surprise to the Leader of the Opposition, but I reckon there might be more than one person called Mark who is from Bendigo—
Members interjecting.
Mr ANDREWS: Well, at the end of the day the Leader of the Opposition again and again and again has provided insufficient information, and he has demonstrated again and again that it is not about the patients. If the cases are good enough to raise—
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Warrandyte and the member for Buninyong are going to leave the chamber for the period of 1 hour.
Members for Warrandyte and Buninyong withdrew from chamber.
Mr ANDREWS: I simply say if the case is good enough to raise surely it is good enough to provide the information so we can follow up and get the patient the care that they need.