House of Assembly Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1) 53 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Emergency Departments Emergency Departments Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Dunstan Leader of the Opposition Emergency Departments Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (15:04): My question is to the Minister for Health. Over the past two years why have the Flinders Medical Centre and the Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department clearance rates slipped to be in the worst performing 10 per cent of major metropolitan hospitals across the entire nation? The Hon. J.J. SNELLING House of Assembly Playford Minister for Health Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Minister for the Arts Minister for Health Industries Emergency Departments The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (15:04): We had the Hon. Mr Wade blackguarding the Flinders Medical Centre this morning on radio. I completely and utterly reject what the opposition is saying: that there has not been considerable improvement in the performance of the Flinders Medical Centre. In particular, the Flinders Medical Centre has had significant improvement in its emergency department performance, particularly in getting patients seen quickly and getting them quickly admitted into a bed. Of course, particularly given the flu season—and we are encountering at the moment the worst flu season since the swine flu pandemic of 2009—our emergency departments are under incredible pressure at the moment. As I said before, I pay tribute to the doctors and nurses in our hospital system who are working incredibly hard under very trying circumstances given the enormous number of presentations we have seen. I will not stand here and listen to members of the opposition, who had nothing to say about health at the last election, blackguard our hardworking doctors and nurses. Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Mr MARSHALL: Supplementary, sir. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Leader.