Legislative Council Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Country Health COUNTRY HEALTH The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS Legislative Council COUNTRY HEALTH The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:18): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government a question about funding cuts to health services in Snowtown. Leave granted. The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS Legislative Council The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: The government recently cut $60,000 in funding for the running of Snowtown's emergency response health services. This has led the Clare Medical Centre to discontinue being a provider of these services due to unreasonable costs being imposed on it. This now threatens the longer term viability of the Snowtown hospital and leaves the town without adequate emergency services. My questions to the minister are: 1.	Given the government has reneged on its decisions for the Keith, Balaklava and McLaren Vale hospitals, why is a similar decision now being made for Snowtown? 2.	Does the Minister for Regional Development agree that hospitals are vital infrastructure for regional towns? If so, will the government commit to a reversal of this decision in the same way it did for those other regional hospitals? The Hon. G.E. GAGO Legislative Council Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (15:19): I thank the honourable member for his questions. This government has invested significant funds in the country to ensure patients receive medical care close to their homes and in modern facilities. Compared with the last year of the previous Liberal government's spending, spending on country health services has increased by $348.2 million, or a 91.5 per cent increase, compared to the final year of the last Liberal government. In 2012-13, the state government committed $728.5 million to public health services in regions in the country. I am advised that the following expenditure has occurred: an increase in haemodialysis activity in rural areas, up 17 per cent in 2011-12 compared to the previous year; the number of procedures conducted under the elective surgery strategy was a new maximum of 17,394 in 2011-12; $2.283 million was spent on minor works, with major expenditure for upgrades to emergency departments at Cummins, Mannum and Victor Harbor. In total, those upgrades were over $1 million; high voltage switch replacement at Port Pirie, just under $500,000; and other minor works projects totalling over $100,000. In addition, $1.735 million was spent in 2011-12 to purchase biomedical equipment, including things like over $300,000 for the replacement of anaesthetic machines for Port Pirie, Gawler and Mount Barker; over $300,000 for monitoring systems for Port Pirie and Gawler; and just under $1 million for other biomedical equipment. In relation to mental health, this government is also funding a total of 24 dedicated mental health beds in areas of country South Australia. These new beds will be located in hospitals at Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Berri and Mount Gambier. In country South Australia, intermediate care services are available for the first time to enable services to be provided closer to where people live. While facility-based services are currently being planned, non-facility places are now available in Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Port Augusta, Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln. South Australia will also benefit from the commonwealth government's recent announcement of 159 beds and places for our state's mental health system. Mr President, you can see that this government is indeed committed to ensuring good quality health services and good quality health care to our country regions. These things are most important and, as I said, we are very committed to ensuring good quality services throughout our regions. In terms of the operational decisions and the way priorities are set, they are obviously matters for our health department, but we try to ensure that services are accessible across regions in an attempt to ensure that people have the greatest ability to access a broad cross-section of good quality health services and care.