Central Adelaide Local Health Network

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:33): Can the minister provide some explanation to the house as to why over 85 per cent of the category 1 urgent elective surgery that has gone beyond the 30-day mark is from the Central Adelaide Local Health Network, that is, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:34): I am more than happy to get a report back from my department as to why Central Adelaide might be overly represented—if, in fact, it is. However, that is something I will get some information on.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: You always have to be careful coming in to this place when the opposition starts producing statistics, because more often than not it is wrong. Nonetheless, I am more than happy to have a look and, if it is the case—

Members interjecting:

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order: debating the substance of the question.

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is called to order. Minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I am more than happy to have a look. It may well be that simply because Central Adelaide does a significant proportion of the elective surgery in the system that may be one of the reasons. It may well be that we've had to postpone more elective surgery within Central Adelaide. You have to remember, sometimes elective surgery is cancelled because the patient initiates the cancellation for the elective surgery. This is one of the reasons why we are trying to make reforms in our hospital system because we know that there are better ways to do elective surgery.

We know that when you separate your elective surgery from your emergency surgery you have fewer cancellations. You have greater reliability that elective surgery can happen without cancellation when you stream it. That is why today we have been very happy to announce that we will be building two additional operating theatres, larger operating theatres, and refurbishing the pre-operative and post-operative areas of the Noarlunga Hospital, something that the member for Kaurna and the member for Reynell have been agitating as something that is much needed in their electorates.

What that will enable us to do for patients in the south and for people who live in the south is that we will be able to do more elective surgery, we will be able to stream that elective surgery, there will be fewer cancellations and we'll be able to get through those elective surgery lists and get down the number of people who are waiting for elective surgery, get down the waiting lists, which of course is a key thing that we are attempting to achieve through Transforming Health. I am pleased that the opposition is so concerned about elective surgery. It would be great to hear their support for the reforms we're making to some key hospitals to make sure that we can improve our elective surgery results.