Health Review

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (15:35): I rise today to speak about Transforming Health in the north-eastern suburbs and about the upcoming open day at the Lyell McEwin Hospital. Transforming Health has been developed to deliver better services and care to patients and, importantly, better outcomes. The state government consulted with more than 250 doctors, nurses, midwives and scientific and allied health professionals, and considered feedback from more than 2,225 people. Question and answer forums were held in regions across the state to hear the views of consumers, and I know I attended those held in the north-eastern suburbs, as did other members of parliament.

Under Transforming Health, the Royal Adelaide Hospital will remain the state's major complex, multitrauma department, and the Lyell McEwin and Flinders Medical Centre will each operate major emergency departments. The Lyell McEwin Hospital has undergone a major expansion over the past decade. Since 2002, $314 million has been invested in the Lyell McEwin Hospital. Works completed within the redevelopment include:

construction of a new 50-bed mental health building;

a new 96-bed inpatient building, including a new helipad facility;

a new women's health and paediatric inpatient building;

an eight-bed extended emergency care unit;

a new administrative teaching and research space;

expansion of the intensive care unit and outpatient department and external site works;

refurbishment of inpatient palliative care and medical wards;

Aboriginal health services;

outpatient facilities;

SA Pathology services;

medical imaging;

operating theatres and day procedure units; and

oncology facilities, including provision of two linear accelerators.

Work also included a significant upgrade and improvement to the engineering infrastructure. In 2010, a new multideck car park was also constructed. In addition, under Transforming Health, the Lyell McEwin Hospital and Modbury Hospital will work together and complement each other, reducing the time patients in the north and north-east wait for surgery and ensuring they have access to the best possible emergency, surgical, medical and rehabilitative care.

Both hospitals will continue to operate emergency departments staffed by specialists 24/7. A comprehensive 24-hour, seven-day orthopaedic trauma surgery service at the hospital provides faster access to orthopaedic surgery for north and north-east residents. Previously, patients were waiting up to 150 hours for surgery. The average waiting time for hip fracture surgery is now less than 15 hours. The Lyell McEwin Hospital will focus on emergency and complex surgery. It will manage major emergency and trauma patients, and it will be supported, as I have already stated, by the 24-hour senior doctors and nurses and the diagnostic and imaging support.

On Saturday 18 June, between 10am and 2pm, the Lyell McEwin Hospital will be open to the public. There is going to be an open day, and it is going to be an excellent opportunity for members of the public to visit the hospital and see the new, modern facilities, including the purpose-built cancer centre, a women's and children's health hub and an outpatients department. Visitors will also be able to speak to local clinicians about changes at the hospital. There will be guided tours, information stalls, and question and answer sessions, and free parking will also be available.

Finally, I would just like to mention the new $3.6 million state government-funded ambulance station on Fosters Road in Oakden which will open later this month. This station was established to meet the needs of our growing community and to deliver improved emergency response times to residents.