Rapid Off-Load Procedures

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (15:07): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Are rapid off-load procedures standard practice under this government? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mrs HURN: A SafeWork SA entry permit holder report submitted by SASMOA, dated 17 March, reported, and I quote:

Rapid off-load had been requested by the ramp on a number of occasions but there was no space in the ED. We told them we are drowning.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:08): Thank you very much for the question. What happens varies between different emergency departments based on their models of care but also their physical layout. But there are statewide policies in place, as there were under the previous government as well, in terms of the escalation of care, particularly where there are urgent cases in the community that need to be responded to, to make sure that overall patients can be responded to in the hospital but also in the community. That's a matter which is worked through between the hospitals and the Ambulance Service to make sure that we have got overall safe care for patients in the emergency departments but also in the community as well. I will particularly highlight what's happened at Lyell McEwin Hospital.

At Lyell McEwin Hospital there has been the ability, within the new emergency department there, to devise a model of care whereby we have particular off-load spaces for ambulance patients. That is one of the factors that has led to a reduction of ramping occurring at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, as well as of, of course, the additional beds that the government has built that have provided more capacity for that hospital as well. That means that there are staff and beds available for those ambulance patients to be off-loaded, meaning that the ambulance officers are able to be back out on the road responding to cases in the community. That is a model which is used in many hospitals interstate and it certainly is one of the factors that has led to improvements at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.