Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Mr KNOLL (Schubert) (15:08): Supplementary: given that yesterday, minister, you said that decisions in relation to these three services were political decisions, why is it that you now need to go back to clinicians in order to understand what final services are going to be provided at The QEH?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (15:08): Because the political decision was to have those services remain, and, in particular, have the cath lab. With regard to the cath lab and cardiology services, the government has been very clear: there was differing clinical advice. We have clinicians who wanted us to consolidate those services in the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and other clinicians—in principle, Professor John Horowitz, the head of the unit at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, who was adamant that that would set services back and be disadvantageous to patients. The government heard it and absolutely had to make a political call. That's why governments get elected.

That doesn't mean that, having shaped that policy, we completely disregard the views of clinicians and, in particular, how those services are to operate. We have made a policy decision about what are to be the services at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The exact shape of those services and requirements in order to deliver a safe service is now a question for clinicians.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The Leader of the Opposition loves to interject. Let's hear a health policy, something, anything, from the opposition. We would love to hear a health policy. All we hear in relation to a health policy is a commitment to boards. Boards, according to the opposition, are going to be the solution to the issues faced. Boards are all the opposition has to offer. If the Leader of the Opposition really thinks he can go into the next election and his entire health policy saying nothing but, 'We are going to put boards back,' he will have to do a lot better than that to convince the people of South Australia he has anything like an adequate health policy.