Modbury Hospital

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:39): Supplementary to the Minister for Health. Given that the staff at Modbury Hospital have been informed that there will be 30 medical department inpatient beds lost on that site, can the minister inform the house when these cuts will begin?

The Hon. T.R. Kenyon interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Newland is warned for the second and final time.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:40): Mr Speaker, as I have said, across northern Adelaide there are actually going to be more, because we are going to need to do more activity. In fact—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Well, I am talking about Modbury Hospital. Modbury Hospital will be seeing 3,000 more patients every year under these reforms—more patients, not fewer. They will be seeing 3,000 more patients because we will be able to do things at the Modbury Hospital far better than we currently do. These reforms have been tried and tested. They have been done interstate and they have been demonstrated to work very, very well. The opposition might put its head in the sand over the need for health reform but the fact is we need health reform and we have to make things better.

The final point I would make is that, with these changes, where workforce requirements change, I can guarantee we will find employment for all of our doctors and nurses. No-one is going to be sacked. We are very confident that we will be able to place doctors and nurses in different positions and in new roles and better roles as the profile of these two hospitals' changes.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The members for Mitchell, Chaffey, Davenport, Schubert, Morialta and Hammond, and the deputy leader and leader are all on the maximum warnings. Leader.