Grievance Debate

MODBURY HOSPITAL

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:08): Today in question time we heard the Minister for Health voice some disparaging remarks about the number of protesters at the front of Parliament House voicing their concerns that this government is shutting down the paediatrics ward at Modbury Hospital. Let me tell the house that this is a minister who is so out of touch. He needs to go and have a look at the dashboards as I do, because it may be that Modbury Hospital paediatric ward is not at capacity today, but I guarantee that the rest of the hospital is over capacity.

The Hon. J.J. Snelling interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Health is warned for the first time.

Dr McFETRIDGE: Every health expert will tell you that a hospital is full at 80 per cent capacity. Let me tell you what Modbury Hospital's capacity was at 2 o'clock today. At 2 o'clock today, according to the government's own website, the emergency ward was in the white zone and that was at 137 per cent capacity at 2.40pm today. The GEM ward was at 96 per cent.

The Hon. J.J. Snelling interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Health is warned for the second and final time. There will be no further warnings.

Dr McFETRIDGE: The medical ward was at 103 per cent; the mental health ward was at 95 per cent capacity; the palliative ward was 89 per cent capacity; the surgical ward was at 95 per cent capacity; the rehab ward was at 101 per cent capacity; and let me just remind the house that the ED was at 137 per cent capacity. The safe capacity of a hospital is well known to be 80 per cent. But what does this government do?

Not only does it accept that, but let me tell you that at 2.40pm today—half an hour ago, 30 minutes ago—what the capacity of the emergency departments at our public hospitals was. Flinders Medical Centre—this is probably normal for Flinders Medical Centre—was at 104 per cent. We saw it at 174 per cent capacity the other day with 36 people waiting, but today it was 104 per cent a half an hour ago.

Lyell McEwin was 154 per cent; Modbury, as I said, was 137 per cent capacity; the Royal Adelaide was 132 per cent capacity; The Queen Elizabeth Hospital was 155 per cent capacity; and the Women's and Children's paediatric was at 131 per cent capacity. You cannot say this is because of surges; you cannot say this is because of winter flus; you cannot say that this is because of warm weather. This is because this government has not provided the numbers of beds nor the right programs to allow for flow through our hospitals.

We are seeing disaster after disaster down at Flinders Medical Centre, with the ramping occurring as recently as the other day. Fortunately at the Royal Adelaide Hospital the patients do not have to stay in the ambulances there; they can be put into the corridors. The ambos tell me they call that 'corridoring', so they are tucked away in every possible space to get them out of the ambulances.

This has been going on for year after year under the former minister and under the current minister and they have no answers. They are ignoring the nurses and the doctors; they are ignoring the people who really know what is going on. They listen to their spin doctors. Stop listening to your spin doctors: start listening to the real doctors.

The current status of mental health beds in our hospitals at 2.40pm today: Flinders Medical Centre were four beds short, the Lyell McEwen was one bed short and the Royal Adelaide Hospital was five beds short. Yet what did we read in the Ernst & Young report that was given to this government? And this government goes out and says there are sufficient resources and adequate beds.

Well, go and ask the doctors; go and ask the nurses; go and ask the patients, the consumers of the health system in South Australia, whether it is adequate. That is clearly at odds with the facts that are being provided in living colour every day by this government on its own website. It is a shame that, as I say, a bit over a half an hour ago every hospital in South Australia was at capacity—over capacity in their EDs—and we need to make sure that this government is listening.

They have no real plans for this health service other than the monolith down the road. In speaking to doctors and nurses earlier and the concerns they have, they tell me their biggest concern is that the government is not listening. This government should start listening to the doctors and the nurses and make sure that long-term solutions are being put in place because this is a long-term problem.

This is not going to be fixed by glossy brochures and spin doctors. This is a serious crisis on our doorstep, and it is going to get bigger and bigger under this government. We need to make sure that on 15 March next year the South Australian public are well aware of what is going on and they change this government and throw it out, because it is not capable of running the health service. It is clearly evident from its own website day after day, yet we have the minister in denial and coming out here and trying to disparage people who are voicing concerns.