Question Time

Transforming Health

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:41): Given the minister's comments in his original answer that Transforming Health has been such a wonderful success at the Modbury Hospital, can he explain why Modbury is the only site where Transforming Health is being reviewed?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (14:42): Because we are not arrogant enough to think that we get it right or there isn't room for improvement. What the opposition don't understand is that what we are on about on this side of the chamber is making sure that public health doesn't just improve in the past but it improves into the future. We acknowledge the fact, and we would welcome an acknowledgement from the opposition, that already Transforming Health has seen substantial improvements in service delivery at the Modbury Hospital.

The thing is we don't look at outstanding results and think, 'Our job is done here. There's nothing more do.' We look at improvements in what has occurred at Modbury as an opportunity to work out what more we can do into the future. That is the objective of the review of services that we are conducting at Modbury, making sure that we see the continuous improvement of health care services, and not just for residents within north-eastern suburbs or northern Adelaide generally but looking at it across the whole of the state system. We want to make sure that health continuously improves. That is why we regularly conduct reviews. That is why we take the advice of clinicians. That is why we hear from members of the community.