Transforming Health

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (16:03): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Last week I released the Transforming Health proposals paper which outlines how we plan to meet the clinical standards of care proposed by our health care professionals. These standards were developed by our doctors and surgeons, nurses and midwives, and scientific and allied healthcare professionals. They have been working over the past nine months to develop ways of making our health system work better. They have told me that, although we have areas of excellence, we also have areas where we can do much better. Despite our having more doctors, nurses and hospital beds—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is called to order.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —per head of population than any other state in the country, there are around 50 quality standards that cannot be met the way our healthcare system is currently configured. This is in no way the fault of the clinicians in our system. On the contrary, we have highly dedicated staff who go to work each day to make their patients' lives better but our systems do not always support them.

Since 2002, we have invested in the physical infrastructure of our health system to remedy the neglect we inherited when we came into government. We have redeveloped hospitals and updated equipment and facilities, but now we need to change the way our services are arranged so we can deliver consistent, quality care across the metropolitan hospital system.

Most South Australians imagine that the same services are available at every one of our metropolitan hospitals, day or night, weekday or weekend, but this is not so. Senior doctors are not always available on-site at some of our hospitals overnight or on weekends. Many of the diagnostics and specialist services needed by patients are not available out of hours. This means that the health outcomes for patients can depend on where and when they present to hospital.

Some may ask why we cannot simply upgrade all of our emergency departments to deal with every possible emergency, but South Australia does not have the population size or the number of specialists to manage major emergencies at seven different hospitals, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There would not be enough complex care patients for that number of specialist staff to be able to keep their skills at an optimal level.

Under our current structure, people may go to one hospital, be assessed at the emergency department, only to be transferred by ambulance to another hospital that has the appropriate senior staff, skills and equipment to deal with their condition. This delay can result in poor health outcomes for patients. Transforming Health is about getting the right care for patients first time. We know that this will save lives.

I want to emphasise that, under the Transforming Health proposals, no service is ceasing. Every service currently being provided will continue but some will be at different locations. These proposals have been developed with the doctors, nurses and other health professionals who work in our health system every day. Like me, they want the best possible hospital system for South Australia. They have told me that the changes proposed for our entire health system will provide better care for more patients.

I invite members to read the Transforming Health proposals paper with an open mind and a readiness to think constructively about improving care in our system. It is a challenging document because it asks us to think differently about better ways to deliver health care. It asks us to consider how the quality standards for care can be met in our system. South Australians can provide feedback on the proposals paper by 5pm on 27 February by visiting www.transforminghealth.sa.gov.au.