Ambulance Ramping

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (14:28): My question is to the Premier. Premier, is it correct that the ramping hours of December 2020 were more than double those of December 2017, before you were elected? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PICTON: In December 2017, before the last election, there were 661 hours of ambulances ramped. In the most recent figures released, in December 2020, there were 1,361, more than double the previous rate.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (14:29): It's a pleasure to be able to take this question on behalf of the Minister for Health in the other place. Many things have of course changed since December 2017. In the health department, in particular, there have been many benefits to the people of South Australia as a result of the election of the Marshall Liberal government since 2017.

Coming into government, we were confronted with the devastation left by those who imposed Transforming Health on our state. The Transforming Health adviser, the member for Kaurna, of course; the Transforming Health Treasurer, the member for West Torrens; and the Transforming Health Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, left the people—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —of South Australia with a series of circumstances from which this government has worked hard to improve our situation. We have identified, as the Premier just said, that ramping is unacceptable and we are working very hard to improve it. There is indeed a comprehensive plan that is being undertaken by the Department for Health to improve this. It covers issues like beds, patient flow, alternative treatments, ambulances, the delivery of an urgent mental healthcare facility in Adelaide, upgrades to the Lyell McEwin emergency departments, an upgrade to the Modbury Hospital emergency department, a brand-new emergency department at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and a significant massive upgrade at the Flinders Medical Centre—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —all of which dramatically will enhance the capacity of the health department to deal with supporting the needs of the people of South Australia, including reducing ramping. Of course, there is a complexity that comes out of the massive upgrade at the Flinders Medical Centre.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The leader will cease interjecting. The Minister for Education has the call. He is entitled to be heard in silence.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: I'm grateful for the pause, sir, because it's important to note that this massive upgrade to the Flinders Medical Centre was not proposed or undertaken by the Labor Party when in government. They were busy closing hospitals. They closed the Repat, you will recall. They dramatically downgraded—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The leader is warned.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —the South Australian health system. While the Leader of the Opposition was the Minister for Health in the former government, while the member for West Torrens was the Treasurer for Transforming Health, while the shadow minister for health was the adviser for Transforming Health, they downgraded South Australia's health system. We are fixing it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my right!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: We have a comprehensive plan to deal with ramping issues. Since coming to government, since the December 2017 date that the shadow minister for health identified, we have massively increased—significant increases—the budget of SA ambulances. We have refreshed the fleet and we have, of course, put a large number of additional paramedics and ambulance officers into the system.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The South Australian health department is dealing with a range of challenges across South Australia because there is a global pandemic that has devastated health systems around the world, that has put our health system around Australia under pressure, that has caused changes to practices and indeed has had impact on a range of things. Despite that, we have extraordinarily strong health outcomes in South Australia compared with any other state and compared with any other jurisdiction in the world.

There are challenges as we fix the health system left to us by those opposite. The South Australian health department and the Minister for Health are doing terrific work. They have a comprehensive plan, which we are delivering on, and I am confident that the people of South Australia understand what is improving and understand the hypocrisy of those who seek to talk it down.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Kaurna, I call to order the member for Hammond, I warn the member for Chaffey, I warn the member for Cheltenham, I call to order the member for Light, I call to order the member for Colton and I warn for a second time the member for Playford.