Modbury Hospital

Mr GOLDSWORTHY (Kavel) (14:41): My question is to the Minister for Health. Is an operating theatre available for emergency surgery at the Modbury Hospital and is it available for patients, other than overnight elective surgery patients, given that on 11 February the minister advised, and I quote:

We made a change so that there will be an emergency theatre available to overnight patients who have elective surgery for at least six months while we assess this program.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:41): If the member for Kavel is asking if what I said was true, yes, that is correct, that is the case. As part of the reforms of surgery at Modbury Hospital, in part of our consultation with clinicians one of the issues they raised was what would happen if there was a patient who was admitted overnight and deteriorated overnight and had to be taken back into theatre.

The clinicians were keen, and thought it important in terms of safety, that there be the facilities so that that patient could be brought back into theatre at the Modbury Hospital, as opposed to having to be evacuated to another hospital. That is something that we agreed to, that is something that has been trialled. I haven't been updated, but my understanding is that if it has been used it has been very, very rare. I am happy to get a report back as to how that trial is progressing. Certainly, I am not aware of there having been any issues with that particular arrangement.

I think I had a similar line of questioning from the Leader of the Opposition before the break. That is quite different from a patient presenting at the emergency department and requiring emergency surgery. In those instances, as soon those patients are stable they are transferred to the Lyell McEwin Hospital, where there is a dedicated emergency theatre for those patients to have emergency surgery—so quite different issues.