The number of Canberrans unhappy with the quality of care at Canberra's major hospitals is a new and disturbing sign of overdue reform, according to ACT Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson.
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Like many ACT residents, Mr Hanson has fled Canberra for the south coast with his family to reflect on the year that was and make plans for the year ahead.
"What's been different this year and disturbing to me are the stories about poor patient care, as we've not really seen that before," he said.
"There are a range of concerns that I have and one is a cultural problem within health with reports of bullying and systemic issues such as a lack of communication," he said.
The Opposition Leader's criticisms come after a 51-page internal review of the Canberra Hospital's Medical Officer Support Unit was leaked to the Canberra Times.
The report pointed to distrustful and dysfunctional relationships within the hospital, a lack of service culture, and poor communication between staff.
"It comes down to two things: one is culture and that starts at the top with leadership, and the second is capacity of our hospitals," Mr Hanson said.
"We've got a lot of hard-working staff in there who are simply run off their feet and that needs to be addressed and the government simply hasn't had the focus on increasing the capacity in the health system.
"We're spending $1.4 billion on health but we're not getting the results and our hospital is one of the least efficient in the country ... compared with peer hospitals."
But Health Minister Simon Corbell was quick to point out a lot of work had been done to deliver on all 20 recommendations of the leaked 2012 review, which was never released to the public.
Mr Corbell said the Canberra Hospital delivered a high standard of care to the ACT community and ACT Health was active in addressing any recommendations for improvement.
Mr Hanson said the capacity of ACT hospitals was also a key problem, evidenced by some of the longest emergency department waiting times in the country.
Emergency department presentations reached a four-year high during 2013/14, with 125,890 ACT residents fronting for treatment.
Since 2010, there have been more than 10,000 extra presentations to Canberra's emergency departments.
Dumping his suit for a T-shirt in Batemans Bay, Mr Hanson said his team was planning to release policies in early 2015 starting with an alternative to light rail.
"I'm keen to put more meat on the bones so you'll see we'll put more policies out there than would be traditional for an opposition.
"I think it's pretty clear public transport is a priority, and with light rail a key issue in the election we'd be keen to make it clear what options we're looking at."
Mr Hanson said the "unexpected" departure of Katy Gallagher and the promotion of Andrew Barr to Chief Minister was sure to change the nature of ACT politics in 2015.
"With Katy Gallagher I was able to work very co-operatively with her to make sure we got a result [on Mr Fluffy] and we didn't let politics get in the way," he said.
"Whether that remains with Andrew Barr will be up to him and what approach he takes."
Mr Hanson said he was happy with his team's performance in opposition and considered the performance of his deputy Alistair Coe as his personal highlight.
"I think the opposition is winning the argument as the reality is the business case simply doesn't stack up," he said.
"When you talk to Canberrans it is the issue that is front and centre for them, with people either for or against it.
"It will be a key election issue but there will be other issues too."
