Stroke Service

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:12): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Can the minister please provide details as to why South Australian taxpayers are paying for a fly-in fly-out stroke specialist to be flown into Adelaide from interstate to consult at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital when an accredited local doctor is available to do so?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:13): I thank the honourable member for his question. SA Health has temporarily engaged an interstate neurointerventional radiology locum who will be residing in Adelaide on a short-term basis to provide cover for upcoming pre-arranged leave. The locum will join the 24/7 on call roster to ensure two INR specialists are available to provide the highly specialised blood clot retrieval service at the Royal Adelaide. I stress that this is a short-term appointment in relation to upcoming pre-arranged leave.

The locum was engaged from interstate as there is no qualified specialist in South Australia with the capacity to provide full-time cover for the duration of the leave. Honourable members will recall that there are matters before the Coroner's Court that highlight the importance of this service being a 24/7 full-time cover. Remuneration for the locum is in line with standard rates provided to specialists performing this procedure.