Universal Ambulance Cover Scheme

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (11:48): This motion is actually self-explanatory. By leave, I move my motion in an amended form.

That this house establish a select committee to inquire into and report on the feasibility and effectiveness of a universal ambulance cover scheme for South Australia; and in particular—

1. (a) the potential benefits of a universal ambulance cover scheme;

(b) the extent to which there are gaps in current coverage arrangements and the social costs thereof;

(c) the administrative and financial costs and risks associated with current arrangements;

(d) models for a universal ambulance cover scheme (including models for universal ambulance cover in other jurisdictions);

(e) the likely costs of a universal ambulance cover scheme and potential funding models, including alignment with other social insurance schemes;

(f) the legislative and governance arrangements that would be optimal for a universal ambulance cover scheme; and

(g) how a universal ambulance cover scheme could be best implemented.

2. The select committee may obtain evidence by any means it thinks fit and may hold public hearings.

3. The select committee is to make findings and recommendations.

4. The select committee must report to the house within 12 months of its establishment.

This motion calls for South Australia to have the same access that other parts of the country have to a vital part of lifesaving services at the time of greatest need and vulnerability, that of an emergency. According to the South Australian Health Care Act 2008:

…an emergency ambulance service means an ambulance service that—

(a) responds to requests for medical assistance (whether made by 000 emergency telephone calls or other means) for persons who may have injuries or illnesses requiring immediate medical attention in order to maintain life or to alleviate suffering; and

(b) is set up to provide medical attention to save or maintain a person's life or alleviate suffering while transporting the person to a hospital;

The Queensland Ambulance Service Act 1991 is a separate act for ambulances, unlike here in South Australia where it is incorporated into the Health Care Act. From Annals of Emergency Medicine, the definition of 'emergency service' is:

…any health care service provided to evaluate and/or treat any medical condition such that a prudent layperson, possessing an average knowledge of medicine and health, believes that immediate unscheduled medical care is required.

Another definition of 'health emergency', from the Australian Health Review, is:

…a sudden or an unexpected threat to physical health or wellbeing which requires an urgent assessment and alleviation of symptoms.

States without universal coverage usually have a large number of unpaid fees, which can lead to a funding shortfall. Victoria, as at 2017, was chasing $40 million of unpaid fees, $21.3 million of which were in the hands of external debt collectors. Those figures are from October 2016, and one can only imagine what that figure might be had they not taken some action. Due to this, Victoria wrote off $14 million of debt in 2014 and $18 million in 2015. This caused an emergency service review so that its billing and debt retrieval processes were examined to maximise efficiency. Funding structures can obviously present challenges, and this is why a committee must look into how and why other states can provide this service, and how we can do the same thing here for our own citizens.

People do delay calling an ambulance due to the potential costs involved: 43 per cent of respondents to a national survey of 11,000 people said that it would be too expensive to call an ambulance even if they thought they were having a heart attack; 20 per cent of the patients who went to hospital because they had had a heart attack or warning signs, but who did not use an ambulance to get there, said the cost of the ambulance was a determining factor in their decision to drive themselves or seek other modes of transport. We know from statistics here that people do drive themselves to hospital while they are having significant medical traumas, and we know the problems that causes or can cause should they be involved in an accident for themselves, and for others not knowing what is going on in the other person's life.

There is support for universal ambulance cover, and I quote an old survey from the Heart Foundation some years ago that found 85 per cent of people supported the notion of universal ambulance cover. I know, too, that the Ambulance Employees Association here in South Australia has called for a review of all ambulance services, so now would be the ideal time to consider the ambulance service in general.

We also need to explore the services already in place in other states and to ensure that the service here would be used only for emergencies. I think that is the most quoted fact when people talk to me about this, and of course the cost, but I think if it can be afforded in other states we can certainly find a way to do it here. Most importantly, I believe that the extra confidence and reassurance the community would gain from this measure are essential in providing the health care our system is meant to provide to them. I commend the motion to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Pederick.