Question Time

Yorketown Hospital

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (14:41): My question is to the Minister for Health. When will colonoscopy services recommence at Yorketown Hospital? With your leave and that of the house, Mr Speaker, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr ELLIS: Colonoscopy services at Yorketown Hospital were suspended on 1 October, with the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network reporting at the time that it was due to a lack of equipment and hoping that suspension would only last for one month.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:42): I thank the member for Narungga for his question. As the member said, there are colonoscopy services that are provided at the Yorketown Hospital. I am advised that a surgeon visits once every month and on average every year 85 operations take place there.

A couple of years ago there were some upgrades to the theatre and associated suite at Yorketown Hospital. I am advised that at that time under the previous government there was no funding made available for new equipment at the Yorketown Hospital for those colonoscopy operations to take place. That equipment has now reached the end of life and we have had to replace that equipment. They have been working through SA Health and the team who look after biomedical equipment to obtain other equipment. Some of that has arrived at Yorketown already I am advised and some will be there shortly.

The advice that I have is that we are expecting, following the usual Christmas-new year break for those procedures, they will be back up and running in February next year and people in the Yorketown area will be able to utilise those services as expected in February next year. There are currently, I am advised, five people on the waiting list and the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network is making appropriate arrangements to make sure that they can be provided their scope elsewhere up until the time that those services are up and running in February next year with equipment that is fit for purpose to enable that to occur safely.