NURSES' DUTIES

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:47): What steps will the Premier take to fix the health system that uses nurses to carry out clerical tasks during a nursing shortage? On page 9 of the Paxton report into our health system, it states:

Nursing staff at the hospitals currently perform a material amount of non-nursing duties, which could be carried out by clerical staff.

The report recommends that these activities should be re-evaluated and, where relevant, substituted with more appropriate staff.

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:48): I thank the deputy leader for the question. I would have thought that the answer to that is patently obvious. We conducted a survey of what happens, we produced this report, we published it, and we are now going to work through the findings with the relevant bodies.

One of the issues, of course, in relation to the nurses—if we go down this track, and I sincerely want us to do this—is that we will reduce the amount of clerical work done by nurses. But, of course, it will have to be done by somebody else. They will have to employ more clerical people, and what will happen, of course, is that those opposite will say, 'You're spending more on clerical assistants and less on nurses.' That is what they will say. But, let me tell you, it is the right thing to do and we will do it.

Of course, there are obviously industrial issues associated with this, and we have to work them through in appropriate industrial ways. It makes no sense at all—and I agree with the import of the member's question—for people who are trained nurses to be doing clerical things. If you think that this occurred just in the last few years you are totally wrong: this process has been in place for decades. We are fixing it up—facing things, fixing them up and releasing reports. We do not hide things: we put them out there and we get on with the job.

Mr Hamilton-Smith: Take some responsibility for something.

The SPEAKER: Order!