Royal Adelaide Hospital Pain Management Unit

The Hon. S.G. WADE (15:15): I seek leave to give an explanation before asking questions of the Minister for Health in relation to the pain management unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: A number of concerns have been raised with me directly and indirectly in relation to the pain unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. One of them included a description of the current operation by a current patient, which I propose to read onto the record:

The Pain Unit is still operating out of the Old RAH with no real support re linen, pharmacy, cleaning, day procedure meals, dark corridors and misinformation about where they are.

It is difficult for patients to be picked up and dropped off close to the lifts nearest the clinic, instead long walks following a green line from the old front door to the clinic are necessary, causing...more pain! Modes of access seem to change each week. Patients have been told that the pain unit is at the nRAH, no longer exists, isn't open at the moment ...

Another constituent expressed concern about the removal of the pedestrian crossing outside the old RAH, forcing people in pain, who often have mobility issues, to walk to the corner of North Terrace and Frome Road. My questions to the minister are:

1. Is the government intending to retain the pain unit at the old RAH site?

2. If it is not the intention of the government to retain the pain unit at that site, where will it relocate and when?

3. In the meantime, what measures will be taken to try to ease the inconvenience and discomfort to patients of the pain unit?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (15:16): I thank the honourable member for his question. Not being familiar with the specific case that the honourable member refers to makes it difficult for me to comment around that particular patient's concerns, but of course if the Hon. Mr Wade, subject to patient confidentiality of information and the like, wants to provide my office with some of those details, I will certainly make available to the individual concerned or the family concerned my contact details through my office and am more than happy to make some inquiries into that particular individual's circumstances or case.

With respect to the pain management unit generally, that is not something that I have, up until this point, received any specific advice about. Needless to say the health system in South Australia has been going under a substantial period of transition. There are a number of changes that have been necessitated as a consequence of our move from a very old hospital to a brand-new one. There have been requirements for adjustments to a range of services as a consequence. Largely that transition has worked well.

In respect of the pain management unit specifically, I am more than happy to seek some advice on that from the appropriate officials and get some guidance as to what the plan for that particular service is going forward, and I will make that information available to the honourable member as quickly as I can.