HOSPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (14:23): My question is also to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Can the minister update the house on the progress of improvements to South Australia's hospital infrastructure over the past 12 months?

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Health, you are having a busy day.

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts) (14:24): Yes, I can. I thank the member for Reynell for her question and I acknowledge her great interest in health issues, particularly in her area in the southern suburbs. Over the past two financial years, the state government has committed close to $1 billion to improve the infrastructure of our state's public hospitals. When we came to government we inherited some of the oldest hospital stock in the nation. One of the first priorities of this government was to redevelop all of our metropolitan hospitals, along with four country general hospitals in partnership with the commonwealth government.

Over the past 12 months we have reached some major milestones in this massive program of rebuilding. The most significant of these was the official opening in August of the $163 million Flinders Medical Centre redevelopment, which marked the end of a five-year project at that hospital. The redeveloped hospital has a bigger emergency department, more and bigger operating theatres, and new maternity and cardiac care wards, allowing it to cater for the growing southern suburbs population.

The new south wing, which accommodates the birthing facilities and maternity ward, has been awarded the first five-star green-star hospital building in Australia, underscoring the government's commitment to constructing environmentally responsible assets.

In Adelaide's western suburbs, a new rehabilitation and allied health building was opened as part of the ongoing redevelopment of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and the Premier and I did that opening in October. A 20-bed mental health unit for older people is under construction and will open at that hospital early next year. This demonstrates, I think, our government's very strong commitment to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the people of the western suburbs.

At Modbury Hospital, work has started on an expansion and upgrade of the emergency department, the first in two stages of planned and funded works. Lyell McEwin's hospital expansion into one of Adelaide's three major hospitals continues, with a new 96-bed inpatient unit and other parts of the redevelopment due to be completed in mid 2013.

Mr Venning interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Work will start shortly on a new 120-bed state-of-the-art teaching, aged-care and rehabilitation facility at the rehabilitation—

Mr Venning interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Somebody is making so much noise over there. I can't hear it.

Mr Venning: I was waiting for the Barossa.

The Hon. J.D. HILL: You had better stay around for another term, Ivan, I think. You stick around. There's a preselection that the Liberal Party would want to hold onto. Anyway, work has started on the rehabilitation facility at the Repatriation General Hospital in conjunction with the ACH Group and Flinders University—a great collaboration—and includes 60 new aged-care beds, 40 transition care beds, 20 new rehabilitation beds and a new ambulatory rehabilitation facility.

Milestones at the Women's and Children's Hospital include the opening of a new children's cancer centre, a children's medical ward, a lung disease centre and a gene therapy laboratory to care for children with a whole range of illnesses. Of course, site works at the Royal Adelaide Hospital were completed and piling work is now underway in readiness for construction, which will begin soon.

New GP Plus super clinics were officially opened at Noarlunga and Modbury, and construction has commenced on a new Port Pirie GP Plus clinic, adding to our growing network of GP Plus healthcare centres across our state. The construction of the new Glenside mental health and substance abuse hospital is well advanced and will open in 2013, and we inspected some of the work there yesterday.

In country South Australia, work is underway on the Whyalla hospital and Berri Hospital redevelopments and both are on track for completion late next year. Work will begin at Mount Gambier and Port Lincoln hospitals early next year.

Health has been, will be, and will always be, a priority for this government. In 10 years of opposition there has been not one policy from the other side except not building the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Mr GARDNER: Madam Speaker—

The SPEAKER: Yes, the minister has sat down. You were straying into debate.