Modbury Hospital

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:18): My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister review the need for emergency surgery at Modbury Hospital, given that in-transit ambulance officers often do not have access to equipment, clinical advice or time to fully assess whether a patient might need emergency surgery and needs to be taken to a hospital with an emergency surgery capability?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:19): I have complete confidence in our paramedics to make the appropriate clinical decisions about what is the appropriate place to take a particular patient. This is not something recent. This is longstanding, that paramedics have had to make decisions about the most appropriate place. When we have times when there is an emergency department that is very, very busy and there is another emergency department which is less busy and it is appropriate to take the patient to the less busy emergency department, that is something that has long happened. That is good medical practice because it is more likely to be the case—

Mr Gardner: It is hardly good medical practice, what is happening at Modbury.

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is called to order.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —that the patient will be seen more quickly being taken to the less busy emergency department than being taken to the closest emergency department.

Mr Gardner: That's not what has been happening.

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is warned.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I have absolute and complete confidence in our paramedics. They are highly trained, they go through years of training, they have an internship program with the SA Ambulance Service. These are very trained, highly skilled individuals, and I am in no doubt about their ability to make these decisions.