The Labor ACT Chief Minister (who is also minister for health) and the Liberal NSW Health Minister work together quietly to try and ensure invisible lines on a map don't get in the way of delivering services to a regional population of more than 500,000.

If Gallagher and Skinner could be persuaded it was worthwhile, one of the greatest gifts they could jointly give to the people of the ACT and south-eastern NSW would be fully integrating Queanbeyan Hospital into the ACT's Local Hospital Network.

If necessary, the ACT could technically take over ownership of Queanbeyan Hospital, while the Queanbeyan community was given a greater say over how it was run. The number of NSW residents seeking treatment in ACT hospitals is sometimes used as an excuse for long waiting times.

About 29 per cent of the patients who undergo surgery in the Canberra and Calvary public hospitals are from NSW. More than 10 per cent of the patients who seek treatment in the two ACT public hospitals are from across the border. But sharing its hospitals with the region is a good thing for the ACT. Having a larger catchment area provides the scale needed to justify having high-level specialist services which would otherwise not be provided.

The ACT Health Directorate is reimbursed for treating interstate patients (just as interstate health departments are reimbursed for treating ACT patients).

Gallagher and Skinner are willing to co-operate when the border gets in the way of patients accessing services. For example, women from the NSW side of the border complained last year about being unable to access breast screening services in Canberra.

The Southern NSW Local Health District provides a mammography service but it was more convenient for many women who work in the ACT to access a service in Canberra. The purchase of extra equipment meant the ACT breast-screening service had plenty of spare appointments.

Gallagher agreed to make breast screening available for a limited number of eligible NSW women who undertook paid or voluntary work in the ACT. Skinner agreed to meet the cost of the appointments for NSW women. Skinner has also been willing to respond to concerns by the ACT government and the Queanbeyan community about the under-utilisation of Queanbeyan Hospital.

The hospital was opened by the former NSW government in 2008. But complaints were quickly made that its two surgical theatres were not getting the work they should and beds were being left empty.

Over the border, the ACT had long elective surgery waiting lists. In recent times, the ACT Health Directorate has been using Queanbeyan Hospital to perform surgery and cut its own waiting lists. The next logical step is obvious but difficult. Full integration with Queanbeyan would see the ACT's public hospital network gain up to 40 extra beds. Even more work could be performed in the Queanbeyan operating theatres.

Instead of being seen as an ACT takeover of Queanbeyan Hospital, residents of the border city could be given a greater say over how Canberra's health system works through representation on the council of the ACT Local Hospital Network.

There would be plenty of hurdles. The ACT government has already been burnt by its initially failed, and then abandoned, attempt to purchase Calvary Hospital from Little Company of Mary Health Care. But it's an idea the Canberra and Queanbeyan communities should think about.

Peter Jean is Chief Assembly Reporter

Twitter: @pjean01