National Disability Insurance Scheme

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (14:45): A further supplementary: will there be added pressure on hospitals or emergency departments because of this cut?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:45): Let's put it this way: we are already experiencing—if it is of interest to the honourable member, I might find you a stat in a different stream altogether. Let's be clear: we are already seeing problems with the NDIS impacting on the South Australian health system. One of the issues is that a lot of people, as they are leaving hospital, will need to access disability support.

One of the problems is the delay in getting people's eligibility determined, whether it is psychiatric disability or general. The second factor is the problem with people accessing the services that they become eligible for and funded. What we have found with the National Disability Insurance Scheme is that, if they fail to provide people with services, they often will not be able to return to the community. So one of the stark issues has been that people are in our hospitals because the NDIS is not ready for them.

I am advised that there are 85 patients currently in overnight hospital beds across South Australia who are experiencing delays in the NDIS process. These are not people who are there because they have health issues; these are people who are there because the health system does not discharge people to homelessness. One of the selfish reasons why I am encouraging the commonwealth to get their act together on the NDIS, both for psychiatric disability and otherwise, is that the quicker they can get their act together, the sooner we can have those 70 people not being where they don't want to be. That is 70 people who can be out living in the community, not remaining in a hospital bed when they don't need medical treatment.