Question Time

Hospital Waiting Times

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:09): My question is to the health minister. Does the minister stand by his statement made yesterday that our hospital waiting times are among the best performance numbers in the nation, when the National Health Performance Authority report, released in May of this year, showed that our major metropolitan hospitals—the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Flinders hospital—have slipped to the bottom 10 per cent of the emergency department clearance rankings?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:09): What—

Mr Marshall: I mean, if you turn it up the other way, it's pretty good.

The SPEAKER: The leader is called to order.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: What I stand by is what I said yesterday, and that was, in terms of people being seen promptly when they present at emergency departments, yes, we are among the leaders in the nation in terms of waiting times.