Health Review

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (14:40): My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, what recent changes have been made to health services across the Modbury and Lyell McEwin hospitals?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:40): Thanks again to the member for Florey for her avid interest and advocacy for her local hospital—in fact, my local hospital—the Modbury Hospital. One of the major aims of Transforming Health is enabling more people in our northern and north-eastern suburbs to receive hospital care closer to home.

That is why in October last year I announced a realignment of services between the Modbury and Lyell McEwin hospitals. These service moves began on Tuesday 15 March, with the second phase taking place earlier this month. This involved relocating medical and cardiology inpatient and orthopaedic emergency and multiday activity from Modbury Hospital to the Lyell McEwin. It also marked the beginning of an expanded breast care service at Modbury Hospital.

Although it is still in the early stages of these realigned services, patients in the north and north-eastern suburbs are already seeing heartening improvements in their care. When I announced these changes last year, I was particularly concerned about orthopaedic waiting times at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, where patients were waiting up to 150 hours for surgery. I am pleased to advise the average wait for hip fractures is now less than 15 hours.

In addition, since the orthopaedic service expansion began last November, I was told that there had been 37 fewer transfers from the Lyell McEwin to the Royal Adelaide Hospital compared to the same time last year. This not only means patients receive their initial treatment closer to home but they are less likely to have to travel into the city for follow-up and appointments.

Despite the scaremongering of some people, the transitions have gone smoothly, and both Modbury Hospital and the Lyell McEwin Hospital have comfortably accommodated the service moves while still maintaining beds and access flow. I understand the admission process means the majority of patients are being transferred from Modbury directly to an inpatient bed at the Lyell McEwin Hospital. They are not having to go through the emergency department.

To aid transfers, a dedicated ambulance is located at Modbury Hospital and also started in March since the second stage of changes earlier this month. I understand the vehicle is transporting on average 12 patients a day, which is well within our predicted ranges. Early data shows the Lyell McEwin emergency department is demonstrating consistent improvement in both admitted and discharged patients. In fact, the Lyell McEwin Hospital continues to improve on the national emergency access target and, on average, is the highest or best performing hospital in South Australia.

These achievements are testament to the hardworking and dedicated doctors, nurses and allied health workers who care for our community every day. This is only the beginning of improvements to health services in our northern and north-eastern suburbs, with a $32 million upgrade to Modbury Hospital now underway and more critical services to be expanded at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.

Unlike others who are now depending on the chief architect of the disastrous privatisation of Modbury Hospital for their health policy, this government cares about people in the north and north-eastern suburbs by employing former health minister Dr Michael Armitage. The opposition's health spokesman has signalled his direction, where he wants to go back to the future with Modbury Hospital, but other public hospitals are probably in line for privatisation as well. Unlike the Liberal Party, it was the government that brought Modbury Hospital back into public hands and it is this government that is investing in its future.

The SPEAKER: I warn the minister for the first time, for introducing irrelevant argumentation into his answer.