Question Time

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): My question is to the Minister for Health. In the more than three months since the Premier's announcement that all cardiac services will remain at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, what steps have been taken to remedy staff, bed and equipment shortages in The QEH cardiology services?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (14:21): I thank the honourable member for his important question around an important and iconic health institution in South Australia but, more importantly, to the western suburbs.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has had a proud history of serving the residents of the western suburbs for many decades. It is certainly an institution that is close to my heart as my grandmother volunteered there for almost 30 years with the Friends of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I know many residents of the western suburbs have been born there and have witnessed loved ones pass away there. It is, indeed, an important institution and one that attracts a lot of affection and emotion, which is a good thing, but it is also a very proud institution, having delivered outstanding clinical services for many years.

The government is committed to making sure that the proud history of The QEH is also reflected with a commitment for ongoing service delivery to the people of the west and also South Australians generally. That is why the state government has committed an extraordinary investment in excess of $250 million—closer to $270 million—for the upgrade to The QEH over coming years. This very substantial investment will see a new emergency department, improvements to operating theatres and a brand-new car park, and it speaks volumes around just how seriously this government takes its obligation to ensure that residents of the western suburbs have access to the absolute best.

When the government made its announcement around these additional funds, the government and the Premier committed to the retention of cardiac services and respiratory services at The QEH. That is an appropriate commitment; it is in line with feedback that the government has had. We have said from the outset that Transforming Health is a serious piece of public policy. It has seen substantial change to our health system in South Australia. It has resulted in the modernisation of our health system in South Australia and, as I have already talked about over the last 48 hours, it is delivering good results.

However, we are also a government that understands that community feedback should be listened to and responded to if it can be done safely. We believe that the retention of cardiac services and respiratory services at The QEH can be retained safely. I am in the process of working with senior executives and clinicians to work through the detail around how that will be delivered going forward.

The government's commitment is clear: we will deliver it, and we will deliver it in a way that ensures safety for residents or for people who access those services at The QEH, but it will also be done in a way that acknowledges the extraordinary $270 million commitment that this state government has made to The QEH.