Ambulance Ramping

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (14:38): My question is to the Premier. Premier, why is ambulance ramping in South Australia now at record levels, and why has that rate increased by 400 per cent from what it was, from the same months in 2017?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:38): I thank the member for Kaurna for his question. It is a good question because I think the people of South Australia do not want ramping to continue in South Australia. The former Labor government introduced ramping to South Australia. They massively—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The Premier is answering.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We inherited from them a budget which was in a perilous situation, where they had already baked into the health budget $1.3 billion worth of cuts. Of course, what we have had to do since coming to government is to very significantly increase that operational budget, increase that capital budget and make a whole pile of changes to exacerbate the situation, which we inherited from those opposite.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The leader will come to order. Member for Kaurna, I might remind you that you have asked the question of the Premier. You are already on one warning, so interjections while the Premier is answering your own question are out of order.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Perhaps if the opposition listened a bit harder and more intently to the answers provided they wouldn't make the mess that they made recently when they were told by the Electoral Commission that they had made false and misleading statements with regard to the government's policy regarding health and were forced to issue a humiliating apology and retraction. That's what happens when you don't listen. That's what happens when you just make things up. You get called out when you make things up. The Electoral Commissioner had to say—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —you can't do that. It's not correct.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Premier, there is a point of order. Before I take the point of order, the member for Lee and the member for Wright are called to order. Member for Kaurna, you have a point of order.

Mr PICTON: I think the Premier is debating the answer.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I actually uphold your point of order. Premier, back to the question.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The question was about ramping and I made it very clear at the top of my answer that ramping is unacceptable. The question was why? Well, I started by pointing out what we inherited. I think that's a very logical place to start. Then I think it is only fair to point out the situation that is occurring right around the country at the moment. This is not peculiar to South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We have a chorus of incredulous response from those opposite, but the reality is they can look at any media in any capital city around the country and they will find exactly the same situation—that is, there is a higher level of demand in our emergency departments across the country at the moment. This is something which has been considered by the health ministers. This is something that has been considered by the national cabinet. We see a higher level of presentation at emergency departments with much more complex acuity of cases and, of course, a longer length of stay.

This is not peculiar to South Australia; this is occurring across the nation. But because we recognise that what we inherited from those opposite on coming to government was not fit for purpose, we immediately set about working with the clinicians to upgrade the facilities that we have here in South Australia, and not just to do that but also to look at ways that we could improve the patient flow through our hospitals and whether there are alternative treatments to arriving at an emergency department.

One example of that, which some members would be aware of, is the Urgent Mental Health Care Centre, which was opened in South Australia. This was the first of its type in Australia, something we are very proud of here in South Australia. It was originally opened with quite curtailed opening hours to look at the model and how it worked. We now made a decision in the most recent budget to expand that to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and then of course to duplicate it and expand that similar type of offering, an alternative to the emergency department pathway, out in the northern suburbs. There is plenty of work to be done. It is unacceptable ramping, and the work that we are putting in place now will ensure that ramping will end once and for all in South Australia.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will go to the member for Kaurna and then the member for Newland.