HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (14:52): My question is again to the Minister for Health. Will the minister confirm that the Royal Adelaide Hospital, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Lyell McEwin Hospital were all over 100 per cent capacity yesterday, with the Lyell McEwin Hospital being up to 124 per cent capacity?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:52): They are getting excited over there, Madam Speaker. I can confirm that our hospitals are, from time to time, very busy places. We recognise that, and that is why we are committing ourselves to a record expansion of our hospital system. We are expanding the Royal Adelaide Hospital by building it on a new site, which will be ready by 2015—against the opposition, of course. They wouldn't do that; they wouldn't have a new hospital with new operating theatres, more operating theatres, more emergency department capacity. They would rather have a football stadium on that site.

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order.

Mr WILLIAMS: The minister is debating the answer to the question.

The SPEAKER: I do not uphold that point of order. The minister is answering in the manner he chooses, and it is relevant to the question. I will listen very carefully.

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Thank you, Madam Speaker. What I was saying to the house was that I acknowledge that from time to time there is a spike in patients attending our emergency departments and wanting treatment in our hospitals. That has always been the case in our state. Last week was particularly busy, and I acknowledged that in the media during the course of the week.

The point I am making is that we have a strategy to deal with that which will put extra beds into our system, and that is why we are undertaking major expansion of the Flinders Medical Centre, the QEH, the RAH, the Modbury Hospital, the Lyell McEwin Hospital, and the Women's and Children's Hospital. We also have work happening at the Repat. In addition, we have a whole range of development works in the country and we are also building GP Plus health care centres, in collaboration with the commonwealth GP super clinics, so that we have more out-of-hospital capacity.

All this is about providing extra places where patients can be dealt with. While that is under construction there will be times when hospitals are over capacity, and I acknowledge that. That is why we have a plan to deal with it. That is the simple answer.