ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith ready to tackle new portfolio

Health in the ACT never seems far from the next scandal.

The services are facing a major challenge to improve well documented and deeply ingrained workplace culture issues.

The ACT continues to lag behind the rest of the country in most key performance areas, including emergency department wait times.

But Ms Stephen-Smith says she's more than ready to face any extra scrutiny and challenges the portfolio brings.

While some may see her current portfolios as lower profile, she points out the baptism of fire she had during her first year in the ACT Assembly.

"I wouldn't be human if I didn't have some awareness of the extra scrutiny it's going to bring," she said.

"But I guess in my first year in the Assembly as youth justice minister I had quite a lot of scrutiny around the operation of Bimberi and some of the issues that were raised around that.

"I was the first minister to have a censure moved against them in this government.

"So I know [the extra scrutiny] is the reality of being the health minister.

"It's one of those things you can't prepare yourself for. You just have to try to remember that it shouldn't be personal."

For Ms Stephen-Smith, a telling reminder that it's all about politics was Opposition Leader Alistair Coe's glowing praise for former health minister Meegan Fitzharris upon her resignation.

"It was a good reminder for me that actually some of the things they say are about politics, it's not about me I just need to remind myself of that on a regular basis," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

She is quick to praise Ms Fitzharris' work, saying her predecessor did an incredible job in difficult circumstances.

"It was a surprise to all of us, Meegan's decision to step down," she said.

"For me personally it was sad thing I really enjoyed working with Meegan.

"I think she's done an incredible job in a very difficult set of circumstances.

"I think she's left the health portfolio in a much stronger space, [the circumstances] frankly are not unique to the ACT."

Ms Stephen-Smith says the government shouldn't shy away from the fact last year's culture review showed there were very significant issues that needed to be addressed.

But she thinks the two new organisations created after the organisation split - Canberra Health Services and ACT Health Directorate - are well on their way to improving things.

She's started meeting with key stakeholders and executives within the health service and is keen to improve relationships between the government and community groups.

"We know that when internal relationships within an organisation are not going so well that also affects external relationships," she said.

"I just get the most fabulous feedback about Bernadette McDonald and Michael De'Ath has really strong relationship with the community.

"People are optimistic about the direction that everything is heading in. Obviously there are challenges in the health portfolio and it is huge. There's 8000 staff, there's a lot of people, a lot of things happening. But there also is a lot of crossover with my other portfolios."

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Ms Stephen-Smith's current portfolio load is huge with the addition of health.

She's already responsible for nine ares including disability, children youth and families, and community services. But she's likely to lose some of those portfolios in an upcoming reshuffle.

There is significant crossover in a number of her portfolios with health and she wants to draw on that experience to make Canberra's health services more inclusive and accessible.

Ms Fitzharris' departure started many conversations about how politicians can maintain a balanced life while in high profile roles.

Ms Stephen-Smith says it's important to not try to "do it all".

"People want their politicians to be normal people who have lives and families and hobbies, but they also want their politicians to go to every single event that they're invited to and read every document that comes across their desk.

"All of that is very time consuming. You have to make some decisions that there are some things you're not going to be able to do."