House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Hawker Hospital HAWKER HOSPITAL Ms CHAPMAN House of Assembly Bragg Deputy Leader of the Opposition HAWKER HOSPITAL Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:01): My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the government reimburse the Hawker Hospital the extra ambulance costs it will now incur as a result of the government's directions? A 94 year old patient at the Hawker Hospital requires multiple trips for X-rays and medical assessments at Port Augusta—some 107 kilometres away. The hospital was advised that the cost for SA Ambulance Service to complete the transfers was $1,333.60 return. It negotiated with a private licensed transport operator at a cost of $1,000 return. However, the hospital has been directed not to use any service other than SA Ambulance Service and is thus forced to pay the higher cost, notwithstanding that the private licensed provider includes the right to transport public patients. The Hon. J.D. HILL House of Assembly Kaurna Minister for Health Minister for the Southern Suburbs Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts HAWKER HOSPITAL The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (15:02): I thank the deputy leader for her question. I am not aware of the circumstances that she describes. I am happy to have the matter investigated but from first look, if the facts are as she described, I would imagine that the interhospital transfers, which are done on a regular basis, particularly from smaller country hospitals which do not necessarily have the array of services that patients may require, generally have been provided by ambulance services so that we can ensure that patients are carried by people with paramedic expertise. If it is simply about taxi services, that is a different matter. I would have thought if the patient is 95 and in a hospital and needs to be transferred to a more senior hospital for extra services, it suggests that they need medical care on the way. If another supplier is purporting to do that, then they would require licensing under the legislation. I am not aware of this particular supplier, but I am certainly happy to have a look at it.