COUNTRY HEALTH SERVICES

Ms BREUER (Giles) (14:33): My question is to the Minister for Health.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a member on her feet asking a question. Members will come to order. The member for Giles.

Ms BREUER: How will the integration of country health services improve health delivery outcomes for country South Australians?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:34): I thank the member for her question and acknowledge her strong support and advocacy for country health services. The passage of the Health Care Act 2008 means that we are creating the government's framework in South Australia to deliver an integrated health system for country residents which will improve health outcomes for country people. Under this act, Country Health SA will be considered as a single administrative unit with multiple campuses. This will facilitate the delivery of services and coordinate health care across the country. One example of how this will work is a recently acquired online education program for physiotherapists, occupational, dental and speech therapists and podiatrists, along with other allied health professionals. There are over 2,000 allied health workers—

Mr Pengilly interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Finniss will come to order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: There are over 2,000 allied health workers in South Australia, with over 360 working in country South Australia. Historically, it has been difficult to provide equal access to training and professional development seminars for allied health workers in country South Australia because of their relative geographic isolation. Aside from having to travel long distances, country allied health workers also find it difficult to accommodate training seminars within their schedules on account of the outreach services that they provide. To put it simply—

Mr Venning interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert will come to order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: To put it simply—in terms that the member for Schubert, I hope, can understand—it has been hard to get enough country allied health workers in the same spot at the same time to warrant running a training seminar. In order to overcome this tyranny of distance, the allied health workforce education program was launched this year, after being successfully trialled throughout Victoria in 2007. The 12-month program features a series of downloadable lectures by national experts. For example, the first presentation for 2008 is entitled 'Reducing the impact of cardiovascular risk factors' and is delivered by several eminent presenters from different disciplines, including medicine, psychology and pharmacy. A diverse range of subjects will be covered over the course to ensure it remains relevant to a wide variety of allied health workers.

This online training program will benefit all allied health workers and will ensure that those in country South Australia are not disadvantaged compared to their metropolitan counterparts. Under the current administrative system in country South Australia, the 44 individual health units are run separately by 44 individual boards. In isolation, many of these units would find the purchase of such a program to be financially unviable or they might not have enough allied health workers to warrant such a purchase. The Health Care Act will enable greater integration of health services across the state by streamlining government structures and facilitating more coordinated programs across country South Australia such as this online training program.