Mrs BRAHAM - 1996-11-20
I believe the Renal Dialysis Unit in Alice Springs is to be extended. What additional service will this provide to the renal patients?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for her question because it provides me with an opportunity to talk about renal failure and some of the problems we are experiencing in that respect in the Northern Territory. It gives me also an opportunity to talk to Territorians about some of the issues that should be and are of concern to them, rather than the tripe I have listened to in this Chamber with regard to the Electoral Commission matter. It is an indictment of the opposition that it should pursue something that has no substance ...
Mr Bailey: Do you think the illegal transfer of information on Territorians is not of significance to the people of the Northern Territory?
Mr BURKE: ... aided and abetted by the member for Wanguri who has made some most outlandish statements in the newspaper, trying to ...
Mrs HICKEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member for Brennan has been asked a very good question and we are all interested to hear the answer. The minister is straying from the question. We are interested in a response from the Chief Minister, not from one of his lackeys.
Mr BURKE: I am not one of his lackeys. As Minister for Health Services, I am one of the ministers who has been accused of being involved in the charade that members opposite have set in train.
Mr Bell: Mr Speaker, have you ruled on the point of order?
Mr SPEAKER: I have ruled. There is no point of order.
Mr Bell: This is relevant to the question?
Mr Bailey: This is not relevant to the question.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order.
Mr BURKE: I appreciate the opportunity to answer the question. I want Territorians to know that it came from a member on this side of the Chamber, from a member of this Assembly who is concerned about these issues.
Mr Bailey: Not one of them has asked about the federal police investigation, have they?
Members interjecting.
Page 1778
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is far too much discussion on the opposition benches. I request that members refrain from the present level of interjection.
Mr BURKE: Renal failure in the Northern Territory, particularly among Aboriginal Territorians, is a catastrophe. It is a problem that is growing exponentially. We try to forecast the increase in renal failure and we are faced with figures that become more and more alarming every day. For instance, in the Northern Territory, there were 4 known cases of renal failure in 1981. In 1994, there were 90 cases. On the figures that I have been given by Territory Health Services, we expect, conservatively, 28 new cases per year. The total number on haemodialysis machines at the moment is 142. They are mainly Aboriginal Territorians. Forecast figures indicate that, by the year 2006, 662 Territorians, mainly Aboriginals, will be on haemodialysis machines. At the moment, the cost to the Northern Territory is $9m per year. The cost per patient is around $100 000 per year. The forecast cost to our health system, for renal failure alone, is an additional $34m by the year 2006.
There are 4 options for treating the problem. One is a kidney transplant. Another is continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) which is really a form of haemodialysis, but the person does not have to be hooked to a machine in a particular ward. They can live in their community and receive the treatment there. The problems with CAPD are that there is no real reduction in cost, and there are health problems associated with that particular form of treatment. The third option is through haemodialysis, the method we use predominantly in the Northern Territory at the moment. Under the fourth option, the patient dies.
It is a tragedy. It is not something for which blame can be apportioned to anyone. According to information collected through the efforts of Wendy Hoy, it can be sheeted home in some respects to circumstances leading to underweight babies. A child is born underweight and its system is assaulted continually by gastroenteritis, scabies and other ailments in early life. Later in life, the person's condition is exacerbated by a poor lifestyle and alcohol and other substance abuse. It is a tragedy and we have really to do something about it. I am heartened that diabetes has been raised on the national agenda as a major health issue for Australia to address. Diabetes can be linked to renal failure which may see us obtain some priority assistance from the federal government.
In his budget speech, the Treasurer announced the allocation of an additional $2.5m this financial year to expand these services in Alice Springs. This will result in an extension of the present facility at Flynn Drive to raise from 50 to 80 the number of patients it can handle. In some respects, we are holding the line against this health problem, but I appreciate the question and say that, not only is it something we have to continue to cope with in the Northern Territory, but it is also another example of an issue that needs to be addressed as a matter of national conscience.
Page 1779
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for her question because it provides me with an opportunity to talk about renal failure and some of the problems we are experiencing in that respect in the Northern Territory. It gives me also an opportunity to talk to Territorians about some of the issues that should be and are of concern to them, rather than the tripe I have listened to in this Chamber with regard to the Electoral Commission matter. It is an indictment of the opposition that it should pursue something that has no substance ...
Mr Bailey: Do you think the illegal transfer of information on Territorians is not of significance to the people of the Northern Territory?
Mr BURKE: ... aided and abetted by the member for Wanguri who has made some most outlandish statements in the newspaper, trying to ...
Mrs HICKEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The member for Brennan has been asked a very good question and we are all interested to hear the answer. The minister is straying from the question. We are interested in a response from the Chief Minister, not from one of his lackeys.
Mr BURKE: I am not one of his lackeys. As Minister for Health Services, I am one of the ministers who has been accused of being involved in the charade that members opposite have set in train.
Mr Bell: Mr Speaker, have you ruled on the point of order?
Mr SPEAKER: I have ruled. There is no point of order.
Mr Bell: This is relevant to the question?
Mr Bailey: This is not relevant to the question.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order.
Mr BURKE: I appreciate the opportunity to answer the question. I want Territorians to know that it came from a member on this side of the Chamber, from a member of this Assembly who is concerned about these issues.
Mr Bailey: Not one of them has asked about the federal police investigation, have they?
Members interjecting.
Page 1778
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is far too much discussion on the opposition benches. I request that members refrain from the present level of interjection.
Mr BURKE: Renal failure in the Northern Territory, particularly among Aboriginal Territorians, is a catastrophe. It is a problem that is growing exponentially. We try to forecast the increase in renal failure and we are faced with figures that become more and more alarming every day. For instance, in the Northern Territory, there were 4 known cases of renal failure in 1981. In 1994, there were 90 cases. On the figures that I have been given by Territory Health Services, we expect, conservatively, 28 new cases per year. The total number on haemodialysis machines at the moment is 142. They are mainly Aboriginal Territorians. Forecast figures indicate that, by the year 2006, 662 Territorians, mainly Aboriginals, will be on haemodialysis machines. At the moment, the cost to the Northern Territory is $9m per year. The cost per patient is around $100 000 per year. The forecast cost to our health system, for renal failure alone, is an additional $34m by the year 2006.
There are 4 options for treating the problem. One is a kidney transplant. Another is continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) which is really a form of haemodialysis, but the person does not have to be hooked to a machine in a particular ward. They can live in their community and receive the treatment there. The problems with CAPD are that there is no real reduction in cost, and there are health problems associated with that particular form of treatment. The third option is through haemodialysis, the method we use predominantly in the Northern Territory at the moment. Under the fourth option, the patient dies.
It is a tragedy. It is not something for which blame can be apportioned to anyone. According to information collected through the efforts of Wendy Hoy, it can be sheeted home in some respects to circumstances leading to underweight babies. A child is born underweight and its system is assaulted continually by gastroenteritis, scabies and other ailments in early life. Later in life, the person's condition is exacerbated by a poor lifestyle and alcohol and other substance abuse. It is a tragedy and we have really to do something about it. I am heartened that diabetes has been raised on the national agenda as a major health issue for Australia to address. Diabetes can be linked to renal failure which may see us obtain some priority assistance from the federal government.
In his budget speech, the Treasurer announced the allocation of an additional $2.5m this financial year to expand these services in Alice Springs. This will result in an extension of the present facility at Flynn Drive to raise from 50 to 80 the number of patients it can handle. In some respects, we are holding the line against this health problem, but I appreciate the question and say that, not only is it something we have to continue to cope with in the Northern Territory, but it is also another example of an issue that needs to be addressed as a matter of national conscience.
Page 1779
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016