Hospital Beds

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (15:07): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mrs HURN: Will the minister clarify whether converting storage rooms into hospital beds is part of the government's plan to fix ramping in South Australia. With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mrs HURN: At a parliamentary committee last week, it was uncovered that eight storage spaces had been converted into beds, but there was no clarity as to how many other broom closets were being used across the system.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Schubert, that is not necessarily a fact. It is not necessarily a fact and I have drawn—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I draw members' attention to those matters that can be introduced by leave.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:08): Thank you for this question from the shadow minister and her articulation of the issue, which allows me to correct the absolutely bogus rubbish that is being put out by those opposite. It is absolute complete rubbish.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Hurtle Vale and the member for Schubert will cease their exchange. The member for Chaffey knows better. The minister has the call.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is called to order.

The Hon. B.I. Boyer interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Wright is called to order and knows better.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: For the shadow minister to come in here and talk about a broom closet is—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —completely wrong.

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Schubert is warned.

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is warned for a second time.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: What has been outlined and what has been described by Dr Kerrie Freeman, the Chief Executive of the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, both at the committee that has been referenced and on radio in the media publicly, is that there has been internal expansion at Flinders Medical Centre where rooms—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —have been converted.

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Schubert is warned for a third time. Three minutes remain.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: We are then converting spaces to enable additional patients to be cared for. The problem is that we don't have enough beds, and we have made that very clear—

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: We were elected on that basis.

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert, I do not wish to exercise 137 given the time remaining.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: We have committed $400 million to upgrade and expand Flinders Medical Centre, together with the commonwealth government, because we recognise that there are not enough beds at that facility. This is in—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Florey!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: This is again just complete rubbish. This is in extreme contrast—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert, you will—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! You will leave the chamber for two minutes.

The honourable member for Schubert having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: The minister has the call.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: It is rude to respond to interjections but I was challenged to ask whether the shadow minister was wrong, and I can confirm that she is wrong. This government—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Chaffey, you can join the member for Schubert—one minute.

The honourable member for Chaffey having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: The minister has the call.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: This government has committed $400 million to expanding Flinders Medical Centre and the Repat, 160 extra beds across both sites, to provide the additional care that people need. That stands in stark contrast to the previous government's approach with their supposed southern health expansion plan, which didn't add any extra beds to Flinders Medical Centre and just rebadged some beds from inpatients and said, 'Well, these are now emergency beds, rather than inpatient beds.' It added no additional capacity to the hospital whatsoever, whereas we have an alternative approach, which is that we need to build more beds at that hospital.

We are doing everything that we can to make sure that we can improve the capacity. What is the alternative? That we would continue to operate without the beds that we need and without the ability for people to get through the emergency department. As Dr Freeman has articulately explained both to the committee and on radio, these are beds with the appropriate services and the appropriate medical gases that will be provided. They are not able to be distinguished from other beds in the hospital, and you can make sure that people can get the care they need and get out of the emergency department when they are stuck there. We will continue to expand every possible ability that we can to make sure that every patient can get the care that they need in our health services.