Country Health Services

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (15:48): I raise an issue of substantial importance to constituents in my area of Yankalilla. Country Health, in its infinite wisdom, has seen fit to cut out the grant supplied to the Southern Fleurieu Family Practice, which has resulted in no emergency care after hours or during the day. This ostensibly means that anybody down there who needs to seek emergency care will have to go to South Coast, Noarlunga or probably Flinders hospitals.

In my view, this is nothing short of a completely devious and arrogant department and minister who, though their own financial incompetence, are pressuring country people and forcing them into the position where they have to drive many kilometres, probably at night, call an ambulance or, as the local practice has said—and they are not happy about it—they will charge $100 extra to service the local residents.

Many of the local residents cannot afford that and they will have to, as I say, drive many kilometres, probably at night, to get to one of these other hospitals. I think what they have done is extremely callous and disgraceful. Bear in mind, Madam Deputy Speaker, that very shortly, when the Christmas-new year break starts, the population in the Yankalilla-Normanville area alone (Western Fleurieu) rises from some 4,000 to about 10,000. Fish hooks, and everything that goes with them, are a pretty normal part of the equation, and I suggest many of your city kinfolk are going to be seriously cranky when they have to go down to the South Coast, up to Noarlunga or, indeed, Flinders hospital at some ungodly hour of the day or night because this Weatherill state government has cut this funding.

This is only the thin end of the wedge. There has been no consultation with that community—none whatsoever. Discussions have gone on with the Southern Fleurieu medical practice and they have laid their cards on the table. They cannot continue to do it without the grant. If I am wrong, I will be corrected, but my understanding, from the information, is that there has been, I repeat, no consultation with that community over what has been put in place by Country Health SA. I think it is nothing short of disgraceful. As I say, notices have been put up in the practice about the changes to the emergency service and what they are going to have to do.

I do not know where this is going to happen next. I am of the understanding that the medical practices along the South Coast, through Goolwa, Middleton, Port Elliot and Victor Harbor, are about to get the same treatment. Of course, people down there do not have quite so far—quarter of an hour or so from Goolwa, or they have to wait for an ambulance in serious enough cases.

I bring it to the attention of the house. Someone has some explanations to make. The bureaucrats within the department have not answered some of the questions or bothered to reply to correspondence that has been sent to them from the practice general manager, Mr Garry Madigan. The last information I got was that the regional director still had not answered email or written correspondence, or whatever. I do not think it is good enough. I seriously think that people in that area are going to be highly disadvantaged by something they have had forever and a day and should continue to have.

Country people accept they are not going to have everything that their city kinfolk get, purely because of geography and logistics. However, this is a callous and harsh move and it is something the minister should get in and do something about rapidly. I will be writing to the minister expressing my disappointment. I have kept out of the debate for some time, as requested by the doctors, but it is now open slather. It came in on 1 December and the people down there are going to be seriously disadvantaged, and I suspect the media will shortly be saturated with grumpy people from the Yankalilla-Normanville-Fleurieu area who are completely dissatisfied.