Regional Nursing training

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart) (14:30): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Can the minister let my community know any progress on the establishment of a nursing training facility in Port Pirie and the region? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK: I have been lobbying with others for the establishment of a nursing training facility at Port Pirie for over six years now. The suggestion was first proposed to the Minister for Health in the previous state government. At that point, the proposal was for it to be established at the top of the existing hospital administration building. This proposal did not receive any consideration nor traction.

I now understand that this has been expanded by the local board to include training of not only nurses but also allied health, plus other medical services that would be a great asset to not only Port Pirie but also other associated health locations across the state. My community would like to know the progress and the location of this.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:31): Thank you to the member for Stuart, who is a tireless advocate for health care in his local community. As he said in his explanation, he has been lobbying very hard for this facility over many years, both to the previous government and to the current government.

As the member discussed, the proposition is that we obviously want to improve training of healthcare professionals of all sorts that happens in regional areas. The training of healthcare practitioners obviously involves two components: the academic component and a practical component. One of the limitations in terms of allowing that training to happen outside the city is whether that practical training can be based in regional areas.

The member has long been associated with the great work done by Uni Hub over many years in Upper Spencer Gulf, with more and more courses being delivered in regional areas, but they want to expand. They want to do more and provide more healthcare workers, and obviously we are very keen for that to happen.

To do that they need to be able to deliver the clinical training. In Port Pirie, in particular, and thanks to the Minister for Education and his team, they have been able to utilise the TAFE campus and their clinical simulation area. However, there are limits in terms of how much that can be used, given the other demands on the TAFE campus as well.

The proposition has been to establish a new clinical simulation lab: a lab that can allow the training of potential medical students, nursing students, and allied health students in a simulated environment similar to either a hospital ward or an aged-care home, so that that training can be conducted safely and appropriately to meet the course requirements.

This is something that we have been considering very closely. As the member said, originally the local health network was looking at a proposition of putting it in an area inside the hospital that is not used. However, I think it's fair to say that the ambition is now greater in terms of could we do even more? The current work that's underway is looking at a potential establishment of a modular build that could be based nearby the hospital. This would allow broadening of the facility to include allied health and medical, not just nursing, which was the original proposition. This could take potentially hundreds of students through that facility each year, which would obviously be of great benefit to the local area. So we are progressing this. The minister raises this with me on almost a daily basis. It is obviously something that we are considering in the context—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: Sorry, the member for Stuart. He's like an emeritus minister. The member for Stuart raises this with me on an almost daily basis, and we are certainly in discussions with the Treasurer and the Premier about how this could be funded. But obviously, the government has shown just in recent days in terms of the work that we're doing in terms of medical training how committed we are in terms of expanding what we can do in terms of training in regional areas, and this potentially could be another big step that we could take in that direction. So I thank the member for his advocacy. We continue to work with the local health network on developing these plans, and hopefully we will have some more news to give to the house shortly.