SA Ambulance Service

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier acknowledge that the government's offer yesterday to paramedics will not solve the ramping crisis or the delayed ambulance response times? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr MALINAUSKAS: The Ambulance Employees Association said yesterday of the government's offer, and I quote, 'It will not solve the problems of ramping or long response times.'

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:22): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. The issue of ramping is one that we have been dealing with since we came to government. There is no doubt that there has been a very significant surge in emergency department presentations so far this year and the capacity within the hospitals was not sufficient to cope with the current volumes that we are experiencing.

We have said right from day one that there is not a silver bullet to solving the problems. Others suggested repeatedly that the only problem that needed to be addressed was the number of ambulance officers in South Australia. Well, since day one we have said that is part of the solution, it is not the complete solution.

The complete solution is that we need to look at how we take patients through other pathways within our hospitals. We've got to look at alternative care models in South Australia and we've also got to look at expanding the emergency department capacities within our hospitals. Each of those elements is part of fixing a system which was completely and utterly broken when we came to government. Under the previous government, what we saw—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Under the previous government, sir, as you would appreciate, they had a policy that was called Transforming Health and the gist of this policy was to concentrate services in the three spine hospitals, the three teaching hospitals in South Australia: Lyell McEwin in the north, Flinders Medical Centre in the south and, of course, Royal Adelaide Hospital in the centre. They downgraded services at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Noarlunga, Modbury and, of course, we now all know, it's a matter of public record, that they sold off the Repat hospital.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It was shameful. Colleagues on my side of the house are 100 per cent right: it was shameful. In fact, I think that the Leader of the Opposition was the minister who presided over the final closing of that incredibly important iconic facility that has served generations of South Australians. There was a lot of work to do to untangle that mess. What we have done since then is build up the services at Noarlunga Hospital, Modbury Hospital and at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and, of course, we have made sure that we have stopped the sale of the Repat site, and now we have invested more than $100 million into developments with the private sector and with the commonwealth on that site.

It is looking absolutely fantastic down there. We are fixing some of the problems that we inherited. I was down there only a few weeks ago and I had a chance to have a look at what we are now providing to tier 6 and tier 7 older persons mental health patients in South Australia. It is a far cry from the disgraceful situation that we inherited from those opposite who presided over the Oakden scandal.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It is almost impossible to believe that those opposite would even try to defend what was happening out at Oakden.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It was a shameful chapter in our state's history and it is one that should never be forgotten, but it is one that will take some time to address—just as the emergency department capacity constraints that we inherited from those opposite also need to be addressed.

You need a sophistication in dealing with the complex problems that confront emergency departments right across this state at the moment. We have said from day one that it is not one single silver bullet but a multifaceted approach. That is what we have been implementing and we are very pleased that the SA Ambulance Service, through their representatives, have reached agreement by negotiation for roster reform, but also for additional resources to go into ambulances. That is one plank of our policy, but our very substantial increase to emergency department capacity in South Australia is another part that is rolling out as we speak.

The SPEAKER: Order! The time for answering the question has expired. Before I call the leader, I call to order the member for Kavel and I call to order the member for Wright, the member for Playford and the leader.