Mount Gambier Hospital

Ms PRATT (Frome) (15:09): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Is the minister concerned that the Mount Gambier hospital has recorded 188 Code Black incidents and, if not, why not? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Ms PRATT: In recent FOI data, the Limestone Coast had already recorded 188 Code Black incidents in the first eight months of this year, up from 170 for the whole of last year and just 50 in 2023.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:09): I thank the member for Frome for her question. It is an important issue in terms of the safety of our staff but also other patients, specifically here in terms of the Mount Gambier hospital and the Limestone Coast Local Health Network. I am concerned that we have seen an increasing number of Code Black incidents in that hospital. It is one of the reasons why this government has brought in additional security since we came to office, firstly at Mount Gambier but also at other regional hospitals across the state. Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, Wallaroo, Berri and Murray Bridge hospitals all now have in place 24/7 security guards for the safety and wellbeing of our staff and other patients.

It is also why the state government has launched a significant campaign to the public about the risks and making sure that we send a message to the community that violence against our health staff—whether they be doctors, nurses or paramedics—is completely unacceptable. That is a campaign that has been jointly sponsored by the health unions across the state as well. No doubt, it would be on the chopping block from what we have heard from those opposite in terms of their desire to halve campaigns.

We think that that is an important campaign; in fact, we have relaunched that in recent days to send a very clear message. I understand that campaign actually won a national award recently for the impact that it has had. We think it is important to keep that campaign going as well.

The other thing that I would say specifically in terms of Mount Gambier hospital is that we have recognised that this is a hospital which has needed further investment. It was only last week that I was able to visit Mount Gambier hospital again and to this time see the opening and the completion of a number of new facilities that have been funded through our election commitments—election commitments that we funded from the fact that we cancelled the $662 million city basketball stadium and committed to investing at least $100 million of that into regional health.

Those facilities included what we have already opened at Mount Gambier: an additional short stay unit in the emergency department, boosting the number of beds in emergency at Mount Gambier hospital. I was also able to see the completion of the building of a new mental health short stay and rehabilitation ward. Similar in many ways to what we have been building in the city at QEH, Noarlunga and Modbury, we are now going to see a facility of that quality in the Limestone Coast region. Also, importantly, there is a new detox facility, having alcohol and drug detox services available outside the city for the first time. This is important to make sure we have the full suite of those drug and alcohol services available.

So: additional mental health, additional drug and alcohol, and additional emergency department services to boost the services; additional security going in as well; and campaigns to send the message clearly to the community. This is something we are taking seriously and we want to keep our patients and our staff are safe as possible.