Southern Intermediate Care Centre

Ms PRATT (Frome) (14:45): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Is the Southern Intermediate Care Centre open to the public and, if not, why not? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Ms PRATT: The opposition has been advised that southern suburbs residents have asked the minister for the Southern Intermediate Care Centre to be reinstated stating:

The SICC website is still active, the phone number, fax and email address is still there. The SICC is not and has not been in use for more than 12 months.

As of today, the phone number is still working.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:45): I am happy to address this question from the member for Frome. Of course, the Southern Intermediate Care Centre was a facility that was operated in the southern suburbs and was closed in January 2022. It was closed by the previous Liberal government.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan: Under the previous government?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: Under the previous government this facility was closed.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Florey! Member for Frome! The minister has the call.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: In fact, I visited that centre on the day that it closed and met with a number of the staff members who were obviously very upset in relation to that decision. Since then, we have been working to try to make use of that facility—

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert, order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —which was sitting completely empty when we came to government. There were some infrastructure issues that had to be addressed there. It is now being used for a short-term basis in relation to Minister Cook's department for also helping people who would otherwise have been stuck in hospital, to help get them out of hospital with the NDIS. So it is being used to provide care for people in the southern community.

There is also a process underway that is being led by the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, working in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist and the department, in considering the future use of that facility and to make sure that we can get the most appropriate use for that facility. But, yes, this is yet another one at those facilities that was closed under the previous government.