Barossa Hospital

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (15:30): Earlier today I tabled a petition created and championed by TheLeader newspaper from the Barossa Valley in relation to a matter which I regularly speak on in this place: a new Barossa hospital.

Under the leadership of the current editor, Mel Siri, The Leader newspaper launched a petition last year on this issue and it garnered a total of 4,046 signatures both online and in hard copy. I would like to acknowledge the presence of the editor here today, Mel Siri, and we also have Clem and Sam joining us from the Barossa.

Businesses, volunteer groups and locals got behind this petition so that we could send a message to the government in the lead-up to the state budget that action is needed. I would like to thank the dedicated work from all those businesses, The Leader and the locals, the thousands of locals who put their name to this call. There were many contributors to this petition who were passionate in their support, sharing many similar comments such as:

The Barossa population is skyrocketing and the medical centres are struggling to keep up.

This is much needed in the Barossa. Certainly more needed than new football stadiums.

With an ageing population and growing towns, the current hospitals can't keep up. Many travel to the Lyell McEwin at Elizabeth and are left to wait several hours in emergencies.

It makes sense to combine the workforce and budget of both hospitals into one.

In many ways, we are fortunate in our community to have two hospitals. They continue to serve us and the clinicians are hardworking and wonderful, but the hospitals are old and they do have limited resources.

In an ominous sign, we have already been hit by a reduction in services in our community with the Angaston hospital having its emergency department closed on several occasions and the Tanunda hospital also experiencing a reduction in bed numbers over a period. You would appreciate that any reduction in service, particularly in regional communities like ours, is concerning, especially at a time when our health system is under so much pressure, and it has caused great concern in our region.

Clearly, there are workforce challenges that need to be addressed by the government to ensure that a reduction in service does not continue. Having a strong pipeline of doctors and nurses is critical not only to ensure that all our current services we have in the Barossa hospital can continue but so that we can expand, and expand our services we must, given the expanding population that is occurring just on our doorstep. Having a first-class regional hospital to cater for the expected growth is necessary and is something the Liberals have long been committed to delivering.

There is a long history to the Barossa hospital. I could spend many hours really traversing its history, the fact that land was sold and then sold off by the Labor government or the fact that there have been a range of business cases that have progressed over the years, but I do not intend to dwell too much on the past because I do think it is important to look at where we are now and, importantly, to look to the future.

Right now, there is a process underway that has reached the final hurdle, which is a decision by this government to commit the funding needed to commence construction. The current process began under the former Liberal government who put money on the table to purchase a site, to finalise plans and to start early works. The government continued this, thanks to the collective advocacy of our community.

The full and final business case has been completed and we know that these plans have gone through the independent body Infrastructure SA and the full proposition now sits at the highest levels of government in cabinet and with the minister. It is a detailed document. It has a clinical services plan, functional design considerations, a proposed master plan, an indicative cost report, a workforce strategy and a financial impact statement. We also know that an EOI went out earlier this year seeking suitable land for purchase with the millions put in the budget by the Liberals. This recently concluded, however, and we are no closer to knowing whether a site has been chosen and where it is. But time is ticking and there is no time to waste.

There was one element of the EOI that sparked some concern in my community, which is that it did mention options in Roseworthy, which is obviously not in the Barossa. With the state budget coming up, my community, The Leader newspaper and I once again are urging the government to release the business plans, tell us the cost and stump up the additional money needed to build a new Barossa hospital.

Our region is expanding, and with thousands of homes being announced to be built right on our doorstep, we need more services in our region, not fewer. This, coupled with the fact that we already have the Lyell McEwin Hospital and Gawler bursting at the seams, makes this project more important now than ever before. As The Leader newspaper has so eloquently put it: the evidence is there, the planning has been done, now let's make it happen and let's do so together.