Patient Assistance Transport Scheme

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (15:19): I rise today to talk about the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme, a scheme that those of us from country South Australia, especially members and patients, are more than familiar with. I am sure that many country members, just like me, get multiple visits from a variety of people expressing some dissatisfaction with the scheme.

I note that the minister recently announced a reform to the scheme, especially in relation to people with terminal illnesses. That is welcome, but it goes nowhere near far enough when it comes to improving the scheme. When we were in government, we allocated an increase in funding by about one-third and introduced a degree of flexibility, but it is my belief that that did not go far enough then and that the changes made now do not go far enough either.

I want to illustrate what I am talking about when it comes to the difficulty of the scheme. Back in October a constituent approached me. I wrote to the current minister and said:

I am writing in regard to a constituent—

We will call the constituent Mr Smith—

…who is facing an extremely dire medical situation, having recently been diagnosed with inoperable cancer.

In June 2018, [Mr Smith] was admitted to Whyalla Hospital with extreme stomach pain. He advised the treating specialist that he had a minor hernia for 20 years and it had not caused any problems.

Indeed, he did not believe it was the cause of the pain. The letter continues:

However, the specialist went ahead and operated on the hernia.

Four months later he went back to Whyalla Hospital with the same stomach pain. He was admitted and after a series of tests diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with liver involvement.

To undergo treatment [Mr Smith] had to attend Adelaide on various occasions. As a result, he applied for the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme (PATS) funding in order to cover the costs of his transport and accommodation.

He was knocked back on three separate occasions. In the letter, I described that as a cruel and heartless thing to do. My letter continues:

In a letter dated 29 August 2019 [from PATS, Mr Smith] was asked to provide additional clinical information to determine whether the services he requires could be provided 'closer to home'. This is despite the treating specialist already indicating the complexity of this case and as a result the need to have some of his treatment in Adelaide. Not to mention a more co-ordinated approach to his treatment.

[Mr Smith] was more than happy to have a significant part of his chemotherapy treatment in Whyalla—which he has done.

The chemotherapy section of Whyalla Hospital does a really good job and it does provide that opportunity for people not to go to Adelaide for that part of their treatment. He went ahead and had some treatment there. The letter goes on:

But in conjunction with that [treatment], he also needed to attend Adelaide.

[Mr Smith] was told that it was not only the pancreatic cancer, but he has heart complications. As a result, [Mr Smith] and his family have undergone enormous suffering—from misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, poor communication and having to deal with a revolving door of specialists at the Whyalla Hospital.

Although, it should be pointed out, not at the chemotherapy unit. The letter continues:

After enduring such a battle and facing stage 4, incurable cancer, the last thing [Mr Smith] needs is to have to deal with unnecessary and cruel bureaucracy.

The lack of flexibility is the disturbing thing that we experience with PATS. In some ways, this story illustrates some of the things that go on in country hospitals. We do want specialists, either a resident (a few of those) or visiting. However, when you get visiting specialists, it is often revolving door specialists and people see different people at different times and there is the opportunity for miscommunication and having to start the story all over again.

My criticism today is about the inflexibility of PATS and the need to have a serious look at it in order to fully reform the system. I have asked the minister for a full-scale review of the system so that country people end up getting better treatment and fairer treatment.