Health Review

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:08): In light of some of the questions today in question time, I want to share a family experience I had in 1988. My son awoke one day late in October and seemed a little bit disoriented and out of sorts. Looking back, it was the beginning of the onset of a major neurological trauma which did not become apparent till later that night. He went to a party that day and came home afterwards, vomiting and complaining of a headache. We settled him on the lounge and his dad looked after him while I was doing some laundry. At about 7 o'clock that night, my husband came to tell me that something was very wrong and, when I saw my son, I noticed the right side of his face had fallen.

I rang the Modbury Hospital and asked what these sorts of symptoms suggested and was told they were very busy and to give him an aspirin. At least that part of the advice was useful. But as a parent, with even a limited knowledge of medical symptoms, I knew that something was terribly wrong. I called the Women's and Children's Hospital to let them know that we were on our way by car which, in retrospect, was not the best idea. I am telling the house this because my son was having a paediatric stoke. The Women's and Children's Hospital was the best place to be, and I was even luckier in that the doctor on duty that night in accident and emergency recognised what was happening.

The rest, as they say, is history. My son went on to make a full and complete recovery. Despite only having as much chance of having a second stroke as he had of having his first stroke, no-one seems to worry about that quite as much as I do. The whole misadventure most likely could have been sheeted home to his father's experience in Vietnam of being sprayed by Agent Orange, but that is another story altogether.

In Transforming Health, we have the opportunity to do several things to make sure people see the right people and receive the best of care first time every time. No-one who thinks they are having a heart attack or a stroke should be driving, and it is probably best that their significant others do not drive them either. Calling an ambulance is always going to be the best option in an emergency. These days, the first responders are paramedics of the highest level, backed up by ambulances able to transport patients to the most appropriate centre for treatment.

Our role here in this place and out in the community is to reassure everybody of how services will be provided and the options people have when seeking help with life-threatening events versus emergency care for things such as broken bones. This reform process has not been undertaken to upset people; rather it is to provide people with the best possible treatment into the future.

The Liberals here in South Australia, when in government, tried several things to make sure that health could be sustainable. One of them, unfortunately, at the Modbury Hospital was outsourcing the management to a private company, Healthscope, which hoped to support its experiment by running a private ward in the public hospital. None of this worked, and the hospital came back into public hands in 2002. Since then $30 million has been invested in the Modbury Hospital, and our new accident and emergency area is still operating 24/7, despite what anyone might say and is working well—so people need to be assured that it is open to all but the most serious cases, and it includes seeing emergency paediatric cases.

In Transforming Health, a further $32 million will be invested to prepare for the dedicated elective eye surgery area, the new hydrotherapy pool and rehab gym, and upgrading wards to provide 28 rehabilitation beds and support services. So, when someone in a position of responsibility, such as the deputy leader, says, as she did here earlier today, that the Modbury Hospital has been castrated, I cannot understand how she has reached such a position. Modbury Hospital is part of the north-eastern suburbs and an important part of the South Australian health system and it works closely with the Lyell McEwin Health Service to ensure that the full range of medical procedures and services are available to people when they need them.

There are choices if people need health care. Just as people cannot always know what is wrong with them, someone in an accident and emergency area who has never seen them before cannot always diagnose within the first five minutes what their exact condition is on their presentation. If you ever face an emergency, I know that, with the wonderful health practitioners and providers we have in this state, we will be able to prove that the implementation of Transforming Health changes are not only essential but also responsible, worthwhile and beneficial.