ANSWERS TO WRITTEN QUESTIONS - Answered by 10 October 2006
16 August 2005
166. Health - Advertising and Promotions
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for HEALTH
1. How much was spent on behalf of your Department of Health on advertising/ promotional activities/videos/DVDs/brochures and general printed matter in 2004-05?
2. Please provide a month-by-month breakdown of spending and projects/programs that this spending was for.
ANSWER
1. A total of $606 093 was spent on advertising and promotional material in 2004-05 and $1 094 007.87 on printing.
2. Expenditure for particular projects/programs occurs across monthly reporting periods so therefore time consuming to ascertain month by month breakdown of spending, and projects/programs that this spending was for.
198. Police, Fire and Emergency Services Ministerial Office - Budget Promotions
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
1. Was any money spent from the minister’s office on the 2005-06 post-budget promotion campaign promoting the police budget?
2. If so, how much was spent on:
ANSWER
1. No.
199. Police, Fire and Emergency Services Ministerial Office – Promotion Expenses
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
1. How much was spent on behalf of your ministerial office on advertising/promotion activities/videos/DVDs/brochures and general printed matter in 2004-05?
2. Please provide a month-by-month breakdown of spending and projects/programs that this spending was for.
3. How much was spent on print media?
4. How much was spent on brochure production and direct mail?
5. How much was spent on DVD/CD production?
ANSWER
1 and 2:
NTPFES portfolio: $4703 was spent on various materials during 2004-05 including notices and advertisements supporting Neighbourhood Watch, Rotary Ambulance Officer Award, Police Officer of the Year Award, opening of the Humpty Doo police station, the Northern Territory Police Association Magazine, new police squads, and notice regarding the death of former police officer P Paggett.
Correspondence was mailed to local residents advising them of the opening of Humpty Doo station. This included a flyer for this purpose being printed at a cost of $114. No discrete tally was made of the cost of the envelopes or postage used for this purpose.
3. See above.
4. See above.
5. None.
200. Police, Fire and Emergency Services Ministerial Office – Government Printing Costs
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
1. List all work undertaken by the Government Printing Office in 2004-05 on behalf of your ministerial office.
2. What were the costs and dates of completion of work performed by the Government Printing Office on behalf of your ministerial office?
ANSWER
Work undertaken by the Government Printing Office in 2004-05 and paid for by the Office of the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services is listed in table in Attachment A..
2 May 2006
248. Elective Surgery Waiting Time
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
1. How many people are currently waiting for elective surgery across the Territory?
2. Please provide the number of people on elective surgery waiting lists by hospital.
3. Please provide the number of people on elective surgery waiting lists for Territory hospitals by category of elective surgery.
4. What is the longest waiting period for elective surgery, and how many people are involved, by each Territory hospital?
5. How many people have died while waiting for an elective surgery medical procedure, by calendar year and for each Territory hospital?
ANSWER
1. As at 31 May 2006, there were 3277 people on elective surgery waiting lists at NT public hospitals.
2. The number of people on elective surgery waiting lists by hospital as at 31 May 2006 is as follows:
3. The number of people on elective surgery waiting lists for Territory hospitals by category of elective surgery is as per Attachment A.
4. The standard measure for measuring ‘long waits’ on elective surgery waiting lists is to count the number of patients currently on the list who have waited more than 365 days. As at 31 May 2006, the following numbers of patients who were waiting greater than 365 days was as follows:
250. Nurse Recruitment and Administrative Staffing
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
1. How many nurses have been recruited by the NT government since the Northern Territory general election of 2001, by each Territory hospital and by financial year? Of these nurses, please advise what number of these nursing positions are now vacant, for each hospital.
2. What proportion of nurses of total equivalent full-time Northern Territory nursing positions are employed through employment agencies? Of these positions, please list the number of nursing positions now vacant, for each Territory hospital.
3. How many administration staff within Territory Health hold a nursing qualification?
4. Please list the number of nurses in administrative positions by hospital and by regional health administration offices and at central office.
5. What were the number of Health administration staff, broken down by levels, employed at 31 December 2001?
6. What were the number of Health administration staff, broken down by levels, employed at 31 December 2005?
ANSWER
1. The table in Attachment A shows staff commencement figures for nurses in NT hospitals for each financial year since 2001.
2. The table in Attachment B lists, by hospital, the number of agency-paid nurses occupying nursing positions as a proportion of established positions in early June, 2006. There are no designated agency-paid positions.
3. The number of administration staff within the Department of Health and Community Services who hold a nursing qualification is not known. This information is not routinely collected.
4. The number of identified nursing administration positions by hospital is detailed below. Administration positions include Nursing Director, Executive Director of Nursing, Quality Coordinator and Infection Control Nurse/Officer.
5. The number of Health Administration staff, by level, employed at 31 December 2001 is shown in the following table:
6. The number of Health Administration staff, by level, employed at 31 December 2005 is shown in the following table:
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
1. What are the total number of operational beds currently available across the Northern Territory? Please list the number of operational beds for each Territory hospital.
2. What were the total number of operational beds available across the Northern Territory at 31 December 2002 and at 31 December 2004? Please list the number of these operational beds, by calendar year and for each Territory hospital.
3. How many written complaints and recorded (ie notes taken) and oral complaints have been received by Territory Health? Of these complaints, please list the number of complaints, by written complaint, by recorded oral complaint, by calendar year and for each Territory hospital.
ANSWER
1. The total number of operational beds is as follows:
2. The total number of operational beds, by calendar year and for each Territory hospital, is listed in the table in Attachment A.
Work undertaken by the Government Printing Office in 2004-05 and paid for by the Office of the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services was as follows:
Question 250
Attachment A
The table in below shows staff commencement figures for nurses in NT hospitals for each financial year since 2001:
The following numbers of nursing positions are currently vacant:
Question 251
Attachment A
4. The total number of operational beds, by calendar year and for each Territory hospital, in listed in the table in Attachment A.
5. Complaints figures for the Department of Health and Community Services as a whole are documented in Department of Health and Community Services Annual Reports. The figures for the hospitals are as follows.
166. Health - Advertising and Promotions
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for HEALTH
1. How much was spent on behalf of your Department of Health on advertising/ promotional activities/videos/DVDs/brochures and general printed matter in 2004-05?
2. Please provide a month-by-month breakdown of spending and projects/programs that this spending was for.
ANSWER
1. A total of $606 093 was spent on advertising and promotional material in 2004-05 and $1 094 007.87 on printing.
2. Expenditure for particular projects/programs occurs across monthly reporting periods so therefore time consuming to ascertain month by month breakdown of spending, and projects/programs that this spending was for.
- A monthly breakdown on advertising and promotional material is provided, along with expenditure on key activities during 2004-05:
- Month by month
July 2004 $ 27 668
August 2004 $ 43 258
September 2004 $ 15 534
October 2004 $ 20 136
November 2004 $ 16 702
December 2004 $ 47 837
January 2005 $ 38 512
February 2005 $ 25 006
March 2005 $ 70 059
April 2005 $ 88 227
May 2005 $ 45 973
June 2005 $167 181*
*Traditional high level of expenditure due to payment of outstanding invoices prior to close of ledger
- Expenditure by program
Aged and Disability
Program $ 21 431
Alcohol and Other
Drug Program $ 98 896
Centre for Disease
Control $ 40 012
NT Health Direct $ 23 199
Corporate
Communications
(including Show
Circuit, Nursing and
Midwifery Awards,
death notices,
Building Healthier
Communities) $ 54 788
Nursing
Recruitment $147 072
Office of Aboriginal
Health, Families and
Social Policy $ 17 538
Family and Children’s
Services $ 55 971
Health Development
and Oral Health $ 42 071
Palmerston Services
Project $ 24 171
People and
Organisational Learning
(including Studies
Assistance ads) $ 25 479
All other DHCS
programs $ 55 465
198. Police, Fire and Emergency Services Ministerial Office - Budget Promotions
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
1. Was any money spent from the minister’s office on the 2005-06 post-budget promotion campaign promoting the police budget?
2. If so, how much was spent on:
(a) print media;
(b) brochure production and direct mail; and
(c) DVD production?
ANSWER
1. No.
199. Police, Fire and Emergency Services Ministerial Office – Promotion Expenses
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
1. How much was spent on behalf of your ministerial office on advertising/promotion activities/videos/DVDs/brochures and general printed matter in 2004-05?
2. Please provide a month-by-month breakdown of spending and projects/programs that this spending was for.
3. How much was spent on print media?
4. How much was spent on brochure production and direct mail?
5. How much was spent on DVD/CD production?
ANSWER
1 and 2:
NTPFES portfolio: $4703 was spent on various materials during 2004-05 including notices and advertisements supporting Neighbourhood Watch, Rotary Ambulance Officer Award, Police Officer of the Year Award, opening of the Humpty Doo police station, the Northern Territory Police Association Magazine, new police squads, and notice regarding the death of former police officer P Paggett.
Correspondence was mailed to local residents advising them of the opening of Humpty Doo station. This included a flyer for this purpose being printed at a cost of $114. No discrete tally was made of the cost of the envelopes or postage used for this purpose.
3. See above.
4. See above.
5. None.
200. Police, Fire and Emergency Services Ministerial Office – Government Printing Costs
Ms CARNEY to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
1. List all work undertaken by the Government Printing Office in 2004-05 on behalf of your ministerial office.
2. What were the costs and dates of completion of work performed by the Government Printing Office on behalf of your ministerial office?
ANSWER
Work undertaken by the Government Printing Office in 2004-05 and paid for by the Office of the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services is listed in table in Attachment A..
2 May 2006
248. Elective Surgery Waiting Time
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
1. How many people are currently waiting for elective surgery across the Territory?
2. Please provide the number of people on elective surgery waiting lists by hospital.
3. Please provide the number of people on elective surgery waiting lists for Territory hospitals by category of elective surgery.
4. What is the longest waiting period for elective surgery, and how many people are involved, by each Territory hospital?
5. How many people have died while waiting for an elective surgery medical procedure, by calendar year and for each Territory hospital?
ANSWER
1. As at 31 May 2006, there were 3277 people on elective surgery waiting lists at NT public hospitals.
2. The number of people on elective surgery waiting lists by hospital as at 31 May 2006 is as follows:
| Hospital | No of people on waiting list at 31 May 2006 |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 1438 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 1225 |
| Gove District Hospital | 241 |
| Katherine Hospital | 273 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 100 |
| Total | 3277 |
3. The number of people on elective surgery waiting lists for Territory hospitals by category of elective surgery is as per Attachment A.
4. The standard measure for measuring ‘long waits’ on elective surgery waiting lists is to count the number of patients currently on the list who have waited more than 365 days. As at 31 May 2006, the following numbers of patients who were waiting greater than 365 days was as follows:
| Hospital | No of people on waiting list greater than 365 days at 31 May 2006 |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 297 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 748 |
| Gove District Hospital | 54 |
| Katherine Hospital | 69 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 68 |
| Total | 1236 |
- Departmental information systems are not able to capture the full extent of this information. Any data provided here would be incomplete and could be open to misinterpretation.
250. Nurse Recruitment and Administrative Staffing
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
1. How many nurses have been recruited by the NT government since the Northern Territory general election of 2001, by each Territory hospital and by financial year? Of these nurses, please advise what number of these nursing positions are now vacant, for each hospital.
2. What proportion of nurses of total equivalent full-time Northern Territory nursing positions are employed through employment agencies? Of these positions, please list the number of nursing positions now vacant, for each Territory hospital.
3. How many administration staff within Territory Health hold a nursing qualification?
4. Please list the number of nurses in administrative positions by hospital and by regional health administration offices and at central office.
5. What were the number of Health administration staff, broken down by levels, employed at 31 December 2001?
6. What were the number of Health administration staff, broken down by levels, employed at 31 December 2005?
ANSWER
1. The table in Attachment A shows staff commencement figures for nurses in NT hospitals for each financial year since 2001.
2. The table in Attachment B lists, by hospital, the number of agency-paid nurses occupying nursing positions as a proportion of established positions in early June, 2006. There are no designated agency-paid positions.
3. The number of administration staff within the Department of Health and Community Services who hold a nursing qualification is not known. This information is not routinely collected.
4. The number of identified nursing administration positions by hospital is detailed below. Administration positions include Nursing Director, Executive Director of Nursing, Quality Coordinator and Infection Control Nurse/Officer.
| Hospital | No. of nursing administrative positions – June 2006 |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 8 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 5 |
| Gove District Hospital | 2 |
| Katherine Hospital | 3 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 1 |
| Total | 19 |
- Regional health administration offices are no longer part of the Department of Health and Community Services structure therefore data is not available for nursing staff in administrative positions in regional health administration offices. Data is not routinely collected on the number of nurses in administrative positions at central office.
5. The number of Health Administration staff, by level, employed at 31 December 2001 is shown in the following table:
| Classification Code | Count |
| AO1 | 59 |
| AO2 | 349 |
| AO3 | 151 |
| AO4 | 127 |
| AO5 | 71 |
| AO6 | 140 |
| AO7 | 79 |
| AO8 | 37 |
| TAT01 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 1017 |
 | |
| TAT01 - Admin trainee | |
| Classification Code | Count |
| AO1 | 30 |
| AO2 | 376 |
| AO3 | 207 |
| AO4 | 169 |
| AO5 | 98 |
| AO6 | 170 |
| AO7 | 109 |
| AO8 | 51 |
| TOTAL | 1210 |
- The ‘Administrative officer stream’ staff include Aboriginal Mental Health Workers, Aboriginal Community Welfare Workers, Disability Support Workers and Sexual Health Workers; administrative positions directly located with, and in support of, service provision, such as Ward clerks, Medical Records clerks, Medicare Administration clerks, Service development staff working with non-government service providers in community health and community service programs; and project staff, often employed for specific projects.
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
1. What are the total number of operational beds currently available across the Northern Territory? Please list the number of operational beds for each Territory hospital.
2. What were the total number of operational beds available across the Northern Territory at 31 December 2002 and at 31 December 2004? Please list the number of these operational beds, by calendar year and for each Territory hospital.
3. How many written complaints and recorded (ie notes taken) and oral complaints have been received by Territory Health? Of these complaints, please list the number of complaints, by written complaint, by recorded oral complaint, by calendar year and for each Territory hospital.
ANSWER
1. The total number of operational beds is as follows:
| Operational beds | |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 345 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 165 |
| Katherine Hospital | 60 |
| Gove District Hospital | 30 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 20 |
2. The total number of operational beds, by calendar year and for each Territory hospital, is listed in the table in Attachment A.
Question 200
Attachment A
Attachment A
Work undertaken by the Government Printing Office in 2004-05 and paid for by the Office of the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services was as follows:
| Description | Amount
$ | Date Paid
(Journal Date) |
| Minister’s Mail | 3 478.18 | 21 July 2004 |
| Business Cards | 220.91 | 16 September 2004 |
| Business Cards (English/Japanese) | 370.91 | 22 September 2004 |
| NT Government Directory | 72.73 | 8 October 2004 |
| Business Cards | 520.81 | 15 December 2004 |
| DL Plain & Window Face Envelopes | 118.65 | 23 December 2004 |
| Community Links – China 26/11/04 | 4 272.73 | 29 December 2004 |
| Printing – Humpty Doo Police Station | 114.00 | 27 May 2005 |
| Skilled Migration Mail-out | 3 036.26 | 3 May 2005 |
| A4 Envelopes | 388.52 | 14 June 2005 |
| Window Face Envelopes | 2 137.04 | 15 June 2005 |
| Grand Total | 14 730.74 | |
Question 248
Attachment A
Attachment A
| Hospital | Elective: Urgent | Elective: Semi-Urgent | Elective: Non-Urgent | Total |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 174 | 462 | 802 | 1438 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 115 | 560 | 550 | 1225 |
| Gove District Hospital | 10 | 88 | 143 | 241 |
| Katherine Hospital | 10 | 60 | 203 | 273 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 3 | 36 | 61 | 100 |
| Total | 312 | 1206 | 1759 | 3277 |
Question 250
Attachment A
Distinct DHCS Nursing Classification Stream Staff Commencements –
2001-02 to 30/04/2006 |
|
| Hospital2001-022002-032003-042004-052005-06 |
| Alice Springs Hospital287268305281265 |
| Gove District Hospital 52 51 37 42 21 |
| Katherine Hospital 61 56 73 66 46 |
| Royal Darwin Hospital339362351360339 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital 35 26 26 31 27 |
| TOTAL774763792780698 |
The following numbers of nursing positions are currently vacant:
| Hospital | No of nursing positions vacant as at Pay 23 2006 |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 35 |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 13 |
| Gove District Hospital | 0 |
| Katherine Hospital | 9 |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 5 |
| Total | 62 |
Question 250
Attachment B
The following table lists, by hospital, the number of agency-paid nurses occupying nursing positions as a proportion of established positions in early June, 2006. There are no designated agency-paid positions.
| Hospital | Number of agency-paid nursing positions as a proportion of established nursing positions |
| Royal Darwin Hospital | 1.5% |
| Alice Springs Hospital | 2.2% |
| Gove District Hospital | 0% |
| Katherine Hospital | 0% |
| Tennant Creek Hospital | 0% |
| Total | 1.5% |
Question 251
Attachment A
| Number of Operational Beds at 31 December |
| 20022004 |
| 293345 |
| 164165 |
| 6060 |
| 3030 |
| 2020 |
5. Complaints figures for the Department of Health and Community Services as a whole are documented in Department of Health and Community Services Annual Reports. The figures for the hospitals are as follows.
| Financial Year | Royal Darwin Hospital | Alice Springs Hospital | Katherine Hospital | Tennant Creek | Gove Hospital |
| 2000-01 | 495 | 53 | | | |
| 2001-02 | 386 | 55 | | | |
| 2002-03 | 344 | 27 | | | |
| 2003-04 | 419 | 34 | | | |
| 2004-05 | 490 | 70 | 10 | 0 | 5 |
| 2005-06 | 489 | 59 | 12 | 5 | 4 |
- Note: From 2004-05, complaints registration was centralised, with all complaints documented and collated, resulting in an increase in recorded complaints.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016