Grievance Debate

HEALTH

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:30): I was interested to hear today the Treasurer's announcement of how successful tort law reform has been across Australia, and that, in particular for South Australia there is a reduction in overall of premiums. But he failed to tell the parliament that it is his government that has reaped an extraordinary windfall of stamp duty on very large insurance premiums. When it comes to health, and he complains about cost pressures on providing for South Australia's health system, let me remind the house of our requests for stamp duty relief on the very high insurance premiums that private hospitals have to pay in this state, particularly for obstetric services.

Why is this so important? It is important because, when the government is under a program of closing down obstetric services across this state, it must then provide some relief to the private hospitals at least by revenue on stamp duty. For Burnside Hospital, which still plays a major role in the provision of birthing services and obstetrics in this state, the stamp duty increase was some $20,000 extra per year on the premium for indemnity insurance for that hospital. When we asked for some relief, and that the government not just take the windfall of the extra stamp duty, the answer was a blatant no, that there would be no relief and that it would be across the board in relation to those premiums.

Here is what this government has done for obstetrics in the state. It has overseen what it described originally in 2004 as a 'suspension' of obstetric services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. We now find that, in fact, it is permanent, and that there is no reopening of the maternity wing at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. So, we have an incredible irony for the western suburbs where you can have an abortion or pregnancy advice at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, but you cannot have a baby. We then relocated the SHine facility for sexual health from my electorate in Kensington to Woodville, right near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, to provide services, and yet, there is no opportunity for babies to be born there.

We have had the shocking revelations in the country where doctors are unable to practise obstetrics. They have even moved interstate, as was the case with the Cleve doctor. One mother drove to Whyalla to have her baby. She was not ready to have it, and she had to go to all the way back home—hours of driving—and come back again. We have heard stories of husbands or partners driving their wives to regional country locations to have babies in circumstances which are clearly unsafe—to be travelling those distances. We have heard of the transport demands on ambulance services in the country, and the like.

We had the announcement that there will no longer be an obstetric service at the Modbury Hospital. Some 700 babies a year are born at that hospital. The government announced that those patients can go off to the Lyell McEwin or to the Women's and Children's Hospital. The Lyell McEwin has an excellent birthing unit, as does Flinders Medical Centre, and that is to be commended. But it must be understood that the Women's and Children's Hospital has no extra budget, no extra cots and no extra beds to accommodate people from the Modbury region and the country regions which they currently service.

I was very interested to hear the member for Florey yesterday announce to the house her desire for the opening of a birthing unit at Modbury Hospital. I have no objection to that. I think that to have birthing units of a high standard is an excellent idea. But I think it is important that women have choice of obstetric services where they need that extra care and provision. It is quite interesting that we have seen recent media publicity about the demand at the Burnside War Memorial Hospital, to which I have already referred, which has taken 130 bookings for March 2008. As that is in my electorate, I have been familiar with the times when there has been such a waiting list at the Burnside Hospital to have a baby that women have to book in 10 months ahead, which means that you actually have to book in before you get pregnant.

Time expired.