SA HEALTH AWARDS

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide) (15:07): My question is to the Minister for Health. Can the minister inform the house about the recent SA Health Awards?

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) (15:07): I thank the member for Port Adelaide for her question and interest in the SA Health Awards. On Friday 15 November I had the pleasure of attending the 2013 SA Health Awards. The awards provide an opportunity to acknowledge the individuals, teams, programs and projects that have gone the extra mile to make positive changes to our hospital and health services. The calibre of the 25 finalists highlights the level of professionalism and dedication of our staff working across our health system. All of the nominees worked extremely hard to ensure we continue to provide the South Australian economy with exceptional health care. Across the nine categories, some of this year's winners included:

SA Digital Telehealth Network project. This project is making a major difference to country South Australians by delivering remote clinical services closer to home, helping to close the inequity gap.

Rethink Mental Illness campaign. This campaign successfully encouraged South Australians to understand mental illness to reduce stigma and discrimination of people who experience mental illness.

Country Cancer Services project. This project has led to the establishment of 15 chemotherapy units in country South Australia and has helped ensure each unit meets statewide and national safety and quality requirements for patients, staff and the environment. I acknowledge members opposite who attended with me at the opening of these chemotherapy units.

Dyslexia Action Group Barossa and Gawler Surrounds. This group sees GPs, principals, teachers, parents, health professionals, politicians and local government members working together to help make important changes to improve the health and educational outcomes of children with dyslexia.

Rural Emergency Responder Network. This is a network of specially trained rural South Australian GPs who attend out-of-hospital emergencies in partnership with the SA Ambulance Service and the MedSTAR retrieval service to ensure the best possible health outcome for patients.

On behalf of the state government and SA Health, I would like to congratulate each of the nominees and winners for their hard work and dedication to our world-class health system.