SA Ambulance Service

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:14): I rise to put some facts on the table in regard to the matter just raised by the member for Kaurna. Let me start by saying that any death is sad at the very least and any avoidable death seems like a tragedy, and the government is doing everything it can to find out exactly what has happened in this matter. I should also declare a personal interest as my brother is a paramedic and has been for about 15 years now, so when it comes to these sorts of issues not only do I feel for and care for anybody who has passed away in our health system but I also have a close connection and feel for the paramedics.

A minute ago, the shadow health minister tried to suggest that for some reason the government is covering up on this issue. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Minister for Health received this report, I believe, on Wednesday of last week. He brought it to cabinet the following Monday—that is an extraordinary pace in the cabinet process, as people know—and the report was released publicly later that Monday. So there is no cover-up whatsoever here.

In fact, it is interesting to note the comments by Mr Phil Palmer from the Ambulance Employees Association, who said on radio, in response to the question about why information was not provided more quickly:

No…the process of getting an independent report, an expert…is not something to be done quick.

He probably meant to say that slightly differently. He went on to say:

We would probably be critical of the ambulance service and the government if they started announcing things before they really knew what it was all about. A kneejerk reaction and overreactions only harm the practitioners…

I am sure that Mr Palmer also had very much in his mind that it could potentially harm future patients as well. So there is no cover-up. The information very quickly went to cabinet within days. The same day it went to cabinet the report was released in full to the public, and the Ambulance Employees Association representative actually said that it was best to wait for that report before sharing that information.

Professor Hibbert has done everything that he possibly can to look into this issue on behalf of the government and all people connected to this matter. The review found that there were 17 adverse incidents between October and December and, of those, nine resulted in death. All nine deaths have been referred to the Coroner.

The government has accepted all the report's recommendations. As I said, the government received the report last Wednesday and released it in full on Monday, five days later. The review's primary recommendation is that the South Australian Ambulance Service develops a cohesive, quality and safe care strategy. The report highlights deep-seated problems that have developed over many years.

In that ABC radio interview, Mr Phil Palmer from the Ambulance Employees Association made it very clear that he and his colleagues had been warning the previous government of the risks associated with this issue for years and years. He made it very clear that he felt that those warnings fell on deaf ears when he gave them to the previous government. That can be contrasted with the current government which, as the Premier said in question time today, is shining a light on this issue, getting to the bottom of this issue and doing everything possible to make information public to fix things and make them better.

The report does not say that ramping was the direct cause of these incidents. Ramping does have an indirect impact, potentially affecting the decision-making of crews. Ramping has been allowed to fester under the previous government for many years, and that is completely unacceptable.

We in the Marshall Liberal government are working to make ramping a thing of the past. Patient safety must be at the forefront of everything that we do in health. Very importantly, looking forward, Professor Hibbert has agreed to continue to work with the South Australian Ambulance Service to develop a work plan to implement changes in the best interests of patients, the Ambulance Service and other health professionals.