Flinders Medical Centre

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (15:10): My question is to the Minister for Health. Can the minister inform the house about the recently completed $185.5 million investment in health infrastructure at the Flinders Medical Centre?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (15:10): Let me thank the honourable member for her question. I thank her for her question for a number of reasons, not least of which is that the honourable member herself enjoyed an experience within the health sector before taking on her career here in the parliament. I am very grateful to have received this question from the Hon. Ms Gago, and acknowledge her substantial contribution to this parliament over a long and no doubt rewarding career.

In late October and early November, we saw patients transferring from the Repat to the brand-new $185 million purpose-built rehabilitation, palliative care and older persons mental health facilities at the Flinders Medical Centre. I would like to commend our doctors, nurses, allied health and other staff in the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network for a safe and successful transfer of patients, and I thank our dedicated staff at SA Ambulance who were instrumental in the move, as well as the whole public health system, for their support, which ensured the moves to the brand-new facilities went smoothly and safely for our patients.

I was lucky enough to be down at the Flinders Medical Centre during my first week as the health minister, to take a look at the new purpose-built facilities following their technical completion. I was joined by the Premier, as well as the members for Fisher and Elder, both of whom are also trained nurses and also tireless advocates for our health system, particularly in southern Adelaide.

I was also joined on the tour by senior doctors and nurses from the Repat and the Flinders Medical Centre, who all told me how excited they are to start treating patients in these new state-of-the-art facilities, which are a game changer for people living in the south. I met a rehab patient, who at the time was being treated at the Repat. His name was Paul.

Paul had a nasty ladder fall at home and has since had 15 operations over a three-year period. While Paul couldn't fault the rehab care he had received at the Repat, he was impressed by the new facilities and excited to start treatment there. Paul was an incredibly optimistic individual, particularly in the context of the substantial injuries that he has suffered. He is testimony to why it is so important to invest in high-quality public health services.

I also met Debbie, the daughter of a patient who spent his last days at the Daw House Hospice. Similarly, Debbie couldn't fault the amazing care that was provided by the staff at Daw House, but she admitted that it was difficult for her father to share a bedroom and bathroom with other patients in tired facilities, especially at such a sensitive time.

The investment at the Flinders Medical Centre was delivered both before time and also under budget, I am advised, and has supported approximately 225 full-time equivalent jobs during construction. I sincerely thank and congratulate the builders, architects, clinical staff and health administrators, all of whom have made a massive impact on the project and ensured that it has gone smoothly.

The state government's investment also includes a 55-bed rehabilitation centre and a 15-bed palliative care facility, with a panoramic rooftop garden and a 30-bed older persons mental health unit. It also includes a 1,820-space car park, which opened for the first time in late September. This represents 1,260 more spaces than before the works began. For those who have experienced car parking at the Flinders Medical Centre, particularly during the past few years of construction activities, these additional spaces could not have come soon enough.

I would like to make special mention once again of the members for Elder and Fisher, who I understand both campaigned tirelessly for better car parking at the Flinders Medical Centre. Their campaigning for the people of the south has resulted in dedicated and free parking spots for hospice visitors and patients, as well as state government investment in two extra storeys, bringing what was previously planned as a five-storey car park to a seven-storey car park. That's what high-quality public advocacy looks like.

Importantly, the new infrastructure at Flinders Medical Centre is ensuring better patient care. The new rehabilitation facility includes state-of-the-art gymnasiums, a hydrotherapy pool and robotic equipment. Being located on site at the Flinders Medical Centre, it allows patients recovering from a car accident or a stroke, for example, to access their rehabilitation in first-class modern hospital facilities much sooner, even when they still require acute and complex care from specialists at the Flinders Medical Centre.

This is a really important point. One of the objectives of developing this new rehab facility and making the decision to move away from the Repat site was about ensuring that people can get access to rehabilitation services while they are also getting access to acute care needs. There is a policy virtue when you listen to the experts that there is indeed a benefit in co-location of these services; again, another classic example of the differences between the two major parties.

One party looks at evidence and research and is committed to actually improving people's care and we act on that advice, versus those opposite, who fly by the seat of their pants and conduct their policy, develop their policy, on a whim, trying to work in with a new cycle, trying to work in with whatever the reshuffle is that's happening, or trying to work in with whatever the crisis is that is occurring within the party room.

I am told that contemporary clinical practice and evidence tells us that rehabilitation is most successful when it starts as soon as patients are ready. For example, we know that older patients can decondition quickly in hospital, leading to longer than expected hospital delays and stays. That's why getting them mobile through active rehabilitation is very important. The co-location of rehab services at the FMC will ultimately mean patients get better care, recover more quickly and can return home from hospital sooner.

The new palliative care facilities I have had the opportunity to visit are particularly impressive. Having been designed especially for those in vulnerable stages of life, the single patient rooms are light filled and clearly a significant improvement on what was available at the Daw House Hospice. We know that the Daw Park hospice holds a special place for many people, particularly those whose loved ones have spent their last days there. Indeed, I count a family member as one of those.

However, we also know that the facilities are no longer suitable for modern day palliative care. Unlike the Daw Park hospice, the new facility is fit for modern palliative care treatment, which has advanced significantly over the last 30 years. It has 15 single rooms, all with individual bathrooms, providing greater privacy for patients and their families and the comfort and dignity they deserve. It provides a better fit for purpose working environment for the doctors, nurses and allied health professionals who care for them.

It has a wonderful rooftop garden, with panoramic views of South Australia's coastline and native gardens. Palliative care patients are even able to be brought out to the garden while still in their hospital bed, allowing them to enjoy the sunshine and breeze on their face during what may be some of the last moments of their lives—a dramatic improvement. I have been told by doctors, nurses and allied health staff I have met from the Repat that, while they are quite emotional about leaving the Repat, they are also excited about the brand-new facilities they are now working in.

The dedicated staff who worked at the Repat have always provided incredible care, and I am confident that positive culture and excellent care is now being replicated at the brand-new, world-class, purpose-built facilities. Late last month, on 21 October 2017, an open day was held for the general public, allowing them to also tour the brand-new facilities at the FMC. I am told the event was very successful and attended by approximately 1,000 members of the community. Staff from the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network have told me that the feedback received on the day showed that people were very impressed with the new facilities.

I would like to thank and congratulate all the staff and volunteers who took part in the planning and delivery of the open day to provide the local community with the opportunity to tour the wonderful new facilities. The wonderful new facilities at the Flinders Medical Centre are just one example of this state Labor government's commitment to modernising our health system across this state. Since we have been in government, we have invested over $4 billion to upgrade every metropolitan public hospital and every major country hospital in South Australia.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: No, that's not right.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: Yes, it is. Importantly, we brought the Modbury Hospital back into public hands. I will just repeat that: importantly, we were the government that brought the Modbury Hospital back into public hands, where it belongs. It was the Labor government. Our current investment of a massive $1.1 billion—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: —in the public health system will ensure it continues to be modern and cutting edge. We will spend $528 million to build a brand-new Adelaide Women's Hospital to be co-located at the new RAH. This will ensure mothers and newborns have access to the most modern facilities and best care possible. We are investing more than $217 million at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital to provide modern, world-class facilities for all western suburbs residents, as well as patients who need to access the most advanced, specialised rehabilitation services in this state.

As I said previously, we are upgrading the Lyell McEwin, Flinders, Modbury and Mt Barker, and we have finished the new $15 million veterans' mental health precinct at Glenside. This is what Labor does best, and we will continue building a modern public hospital system so that South Australians can access modern, world-class facilities and high-quality health services. Most importantly, we will be a government that ensures that it remains in public hands.