New Mount Barker Hospital

The Hon. D.R. CREGAN (Kavel) (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Can the minister update the house on progress towards the construction of the new Mount Barker hospital?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:02): Can I firstly thank the member for Kavel and, I think on behalf of everybody certainly on this side of the house, sincerely thank him for his contribution as a member of the state cabinet and pass on our sadness that he has made a decision which we understand in terms of his own personal circumstances in terms of not running as the member for Kavel at the next election. It is fair to say that the member for Kavel will leave an incredible legacy for the people of Mount Barker.

Through the efforts and the advocacy of the member of Kavel, Mount Barker is receiving the infrastructure that it needs to meet its growing population. Not just in my area of health but in transport and a whole range of other services—in sport and recreation areas—the government is investing in the Mount Barker region, which has missed out, unfortunately, for a long period of time.

It was only recently, a few weeks ago, that the member for Kavel and I were at the opening of the brand-new ambulance station in Mount Barker, which has been long overdue—not just the new ambulance station itself but, importantly, the additional ambulance crews, the additional staff working there to service the growing area, to make sure that the Hills gets the coverage it needs and I credit the member for Kavel for leading a very significant petition to get that happening.

The other area, of course, that the member for Kavel has advocated for over a long period of time is for a new Mount Barker hospital, and we are delivering that now. The Mount Barker hospital only has 34 beds. It had 34 beds back when the population was about 4,000 people in Mount Barker. It is now about 10 times that and growing even further into the future, so we need additional services at Mount Barker hospital and that is why we are building the new hospital there.

This is a $320 million investment at Mount Barker to increase the capacity and triple the number of beds in the hospital. The increased inpatient capacity will support a whole range of additional services and capacity being available at that hospital. It will make sure that we meet the needs of the growing population and allow the hospital to deliver high complexity of care and, importantly, it will mean that fewer people have to travel to city hospitals to receive their care, also reducing pressure on city hospitals.

I am really excited to report to the house that this project is now underway. Just a couple of months ago, the Premier, the member for Kavel and I were on site, turning the sod for the works to get underway for the early works. This includes civil works to establish the brand-new multideck car park and install crucial site infrastructure.

Refurbishment works are being carried out to ensure the continuity of the existing services during the construction period, and as of this week several key activities are being undertaken, including the installation of bitumen on the temporary access road, continuation of the sewer installation works, formwork for the new car park retaining wall, and electrical and mechanical service installation in the community and allied health building.

The construction of the multideck car park will commence shortly, and that is anticipated to be complete by the middle of next year, in advance of the hospital being complete in 2027. That multideck car park will increase the car parking capacity of the site to 654, up from the current 431. So there is significant progress being made. It is in large part due to the member for Kavel's hard work, and it will be an incredible legacy that he has left for the people of his community.