Lyell McEwin Hospital

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (14:17): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Did the minister see the SA Health Emergency Department Dashboard at 6am this morning and, if so, does he have concerns about it? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mrs HURN: At 6am this morning, the emergency dashboard showed that patients at the Lyell McEwin Hospital faced an average 628-minute wait.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Chaffey, order! Order, member for Florey!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:18): I reiterate what I said in terms of we know that there is significant pressure on the Lyell McEwin Hospital and that's why we need those additional beds. What we have seen at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, which traditionally has been very good—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: What we have seen at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, which traditionally has been a very good hospital in terms of patient flow, is an increase in the number of patients who are stuck waiting in the emergency department for a bed which, if the member was looking at the emergency dashboard, she would have seen those figures detailed there as well. Those figures mean that the next patient coming in can't get access to those beds because they are used up by people who need those inpatient beds elsewhere in the system.

I think members here, particularly on this side, will remember only a few weeks ago we had the Leader of the Opposition saying that perhaps we didn't need more beds.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Florey! Member for Badcoe, order!

Mrs Hurn: Now there's noise—it's all the former government's fault.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: Well, no, this is establishment of the here and now in the—

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Schubert!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —in the policy propositions—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Adelaide, order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —put forward by the Leader of the Opposition suggesting that maybe we don't need more beds. That is something that we wholeheartedly disagree with.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, order! Member for Elder!

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is warned.

Ms Clancy interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Elder, order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: We stand with our clinicians who have been saying for many, many years that we need more beds in the system, and that is why we are delivering exactly that. For the Lyell McEwin Hospital we have doubled our commitment: 48 extra beds going into that hospital because we know that extra beds are absolutely needed to address those issues.

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, order!