STATUTORY AUTHORITIES REVIEW COMMITTEE: MEDICAL BOARD OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. B.V. Finnigan:

That the report of the committee on an inquiry into the Medical Board of South Australia be noted.

(Continued from 26 September 2007. Page 774.)

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (16:51): My fellow committee members have previously detailed the bottom line of this report. Given that we have several important matters to address I will not hold up proceedings. I do wish to make my own brief contribution to the report and its recommendations, given that I have been involved since day one, when we began this inquiry some three years ago. I would like to, first of all, raise a positive outcome from the review. We spent a significant amount of time tackling the question of how to prevent drug use within the medical profession. The committee strongly shared the view that patient care must never be compromised. I share the view of some other members that a zero tolerance approach must be adopted in this area. I believe this will go a long way towards ensuring that the medical profession is seen to be utterly professional, as it should be.

Like other members of the committee at the time, I was devastated to learn of a case where a very poor diagnosis was made by a doctor who apparently had a 10 cone a day habit.

Sadly, it was believed to be known within the medical fraternity at the time that this particular fellow had a very serious drug problem. There was a deficiency in the system, because he continued to be allowed to practise and, sadly, it led to the demise of a person who should, I suspect, still be with us today. It is a very serious issue. Before I go further and people say, 'Well, are you prepared to be drug tested in your place of work?' I say that I am prepared to be drug tested at my place of work or any other place at any other time; I have no fear.

I was pleased to see that we, as a committee, saw fit to recommend that the Medical Board be given powers to conduct random drug testing on practitioners. It made the most sense to us that the Department of Health should oversee this process. I personally did not believe that we should go to the expense of drug testing people on a mandatory and regular basis because, from the evidence that I heard, I did not believe that illicit drug use in the medical profession was rife. However, given the evidence that we heard, I believed that there was a problem and that that problem needed to be addressed. The fact that random drug testing could be used as a deterrent was a result with which I was quite pleased.

We were exhaustive in our deliberations during this time, hearing evidence from the Medical Board itself, professional bodies, medical practitioners and the public. I personally learned a lot from the experience and I believe that investing time in this inquiry has been most worth while. I would like to thank all the members of the committee for their efforts in completing this inquiry. I would also like to thank past members, the Hon. Caroline Schaefer, the Hon. Andrew Evans, yourself, Mr Acting President, and the Hon. Michelle Lensink who, as the Hon. Bernie Finnigan courteously noted, completed a significant amount of work in assisting to put the final report together prior to her resignation from the committee recently.

I would especially like to put on the record my thanks to the people who assist the committee: the committee secretary Mr Gareth Hickery, research officer Ms Jenny Cassidy, and the administrative assistant Ms Cynthia Gray. I am sure this report will benefit the community in helping to progress health care in this state through the strong and improved oversight of the Medical Board of South Australia. I am sure that the medical board will give this report serious consideration, and I certainly hope that it does. I commend the report.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. Sandra Kanck.