Flinders Medical Centre Expansion

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (14:43): My question is also to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Can the minister please update the house on the state government's investments in health infrastructure and services in the southern suburbs?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:43): I thank the member for Elder for her question and for her commitment to health services in the southern suburbs in particular. Right across the southern suburbs we are investing in building a bigger health system. Nothing has highlighted that more so than what we announced, the Premier and I, at Flinders Medical Centre this morning, which is construction of the major works undertaking outside of Flinders Medical Centre of a brand-new tower block to be built. The biggest expansion of Flinders Medical Centre ever is now underway.

That work will include 98 additional beds within that seven-storey tower. This will be a tower that members of the public will be able to see for many, many kilometres around as it is being constructed over the next few years, giving additional capacity that we know is desperately needed in our healthcare system.

So 98 extra beds are going into that seven-storey tower. It includes two 32-bed adult inpatient units, an 18 same-day bed medical day unit and a 16-bed expansion of our ICU capacity as well. It also will have four new operating theatres, which is very important to make sure people can get the elective surgery operations they need but also increasing the load of emergency surgery that Flinders Medical Centre provides. Of course, it includes a new CT scanner suite as well as a whole new floor dedicated to a new eye clinic. We know many people in the southern suburbs need that care for cataracts or other eye conditions. They are going to have a dedicated new eye clinic available to provide those services. This is a $498 million investment in Flinders but also in the Repat as well. We are partnering with the Albanese federal government and thank them for their contribution to this project as well.

Of course, this is just one of the investments that we are making across health in the southern suburbs. Already this year we have opened 64 extra beds across the south. That includes beds that we have built at the Repat. It includes beds that we have fast-tracked inside Flinders Medical Centre, where we kicked out admin space and have converted that to a ward area. It also includes beds that we have fast-tracked at Noarlunga Hospital as well.

Down at Noarlunga, we have seen the biggest expansion to Noarlunga Hospital as well. If people drive around the back of that hospital, they will see that huge construction underway there at the moment, which will deliver 48 extra beds at Noarlunga, which is going to open next year—a mix of inpatient beds and mental health beds to make sure that we can meet that growing demand in the outer southern suburbs, reduce the demand on Flinders Medical Centre as well and, ultimately, make sure that people can get faster care right the way through the system.

We also made an announcement just last week. I was joined by the members for Elder and Gibson and also by Alex Dighton, the Labor candidate for Black, announcing the new Marion ambulance station, which will be constructed on the same site there. We have already put additional ambulance officers into Marion, into our new station that we opened recently with the member for Elder in Edwardstown on the Repat site. Marion will soon have a new station of its own. That will be built on the existing site, providing facilities that our ambos need to meet the demands of people across the southern suburbs as well.

Last but not least, we also know that providing primary care services is critically important as well. We are obviously working with the federal government on their Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, but we have been working on our own in terms of 24-hour pharmacies. We already have one of those underway in the member for Elder's electorate in Clovelly Park. That has been very well utilised by the community. Because of the success of that, we will soon start the procurement process for a new one of those, based in the Hallett Cove, Sheidow Park, Trott Park area as well, so more people can get access to those health services 24 hours a day.