House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Clare District Hospital CLARE DISTRICT HOSPITAL Mr BROCK House of Assembly Frome CLARE DISTRICT HOSPITAL Mr BROCK (Frome) (14:23): My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Can the minister advise on the recently built chemotherapy unit at Clare and the services that it will provide for the patients in the Mid North? The Hon. J.J. SNELLING House of Assembly Playford Minister for Health and Ageing Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Minister for Defence Industries Minister for Veterans' Affairs CLARE DISTRICT HOSPITAL The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for Defence Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:23): I thank the member for Frome, and I acknowledge his very strong advocacy for better health services for the people of his electorate. I am pleased to update the house that services at the newly-built Clare chemotherapy unit will begin next month. This is the first of 10 units funded by the state and federal Labor governments to open in country South Australia. The new service at Clare hospital will see four new chemotherapy chairs treating up to eight patients a day. Because of the investment, chemo patients in the region will be able to access some of their treatment locally rather than having to travel to Adelaide. This will benefit patients not just in Clare but across the Mid North, from Spalding, Balaklava, Snowtown, Burra to parts of the Barossa and elsewhere in between. Accessing the treatment close to home means that patients and their families have a better quality of life and can deal more effectively with the challenges of cancer treatment. The unit also includes videoconferencing facilities, so that some consultations can be carried out with metropolitan specialists via the digital Telehealth network. Five existing nurses at the hospital have received training and are now accredited to carry out chemotherapy treatment. These 10 new units, along with the Regional Cancer Centre in Whyalla, will play an important part in building a world-class cancer care system in South Australia. They will provide a total of 54 chemotherapy unit chairs, in addition to chairs at Berri, Kangaroo Island, Ceduna and Port Pirie. This Labor government knows just how important this service will be to patients and their families across South Australia. I would like to end by thanking the Clare Valley Dance Group, Friends of the Clare Hospital and the Lutheran school for their generous donations to the new unit, helping to provide a new kitchenette, quiet area and special monitoring pump at the site.