Renal Dialysis Services

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:03): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing about renal dialysis services.

Leave granted.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: I was at Mount Barker hospital earlier this week with our very hardworking, community minded and Labor endorsed federal candidate for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: Labor endorsed—even though they have their own candidate now.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: Thank you. She was calling for a much-needed renal dialysis unit for the hospital. Demand for such a unit already exists and will only grow as the population of Mount Barker hospital and Nairne district continues to expand. Dialysis services at Mount Barker hospital would save Hills patients hundreds of trips to Adelaide each year and, importantly, ease the pressure on the major metropolitan hospitals, saving money caused by the already bloated excesses of SA Health.

Further, the Adelaide Hills are poorly served by public transport, further aggravating the plight of those patients needing to travel. The former government's health minister, Peter Malinauskas, wrote to Rebekha late last year to advise that a service planning process for Mount Barker hospital and the Strathalbyn and District Health Service by Country Health had identified several health service priorities, including a need for improved access to renal dialysis.

In early April this year, following the change of government, Rebekha wrote to you, as the new Minister for Health and Wellbeing, seeking an update. To date, she has not had a reply. That said, I note your comments on the issue in the local paper this week, notably your comments that, 'providing renal dialysis services at Mount Barker Hospital will need both capital investment and ongoing funding'. My questions to the minister are:

1. Does the government plan to introduce a much-needed renal dialysis unit for Mount Barker hospital as a matter of urgency?

2. If so, how much funding will be committed and when will the unit be opened for business?

3. If not, why not, especially when you consider the population of the Mount Barker district council catchment is set to increase by more than 20,000 residents to 56,000 residents by 2036?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:06): I thank the honourable member for the question. I am exploring the viability of a renal dialysis service at Mount Barker. The local Liberal members in the area, Dan Cregan and Josh Teague—

The PRESIDENT: Please refer to the members by their seats.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The local Liberal members, the member for Kavel and the member for Heysen, and the federal candidate for Mayo have all raised this issue with me.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Let the minister answer.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: SA Health has identified demand for renal services as part of its regional service planning process, and I appreciate the points that the honourable member made in terms of the significant travelling that is involved for patients who are getting renal services in the city but live in the Hills. Providing renal dialysis services to Mount Barker District Soldiers' Memorial Hospital will need both capital investment and ongoing funding. The Weatherill Labor government reduced funding to Country Health SA and last financial year it was the only region in the state to suffer a reduction. That is why the former minister for health sent letters rather than taking action.

One of the concerns I have about the federal member for Mayo's proposal in this regard is that, if I understand it correctly—and the honourable member may be able to clarify it for me—is that the suggestion is that we should be using the chemotherapy facilities in that hospital. It's one thing to invest in new capital facilities, it's another thing to, shall we say, dismantle specific purpose-built facilities to use them for another purpose.

The Marshall Liberal government was elected on a strong commitment to enhancing country cancer services and so I am not attracted to the honourable member's suggestion, the federal—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: Former.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Oh, that's true—sorry, point of order from the Hon. Mr Dawkins—so I'm not even sure what to call her then, the Centre Alliance candidate for Mayo. I am cautious about her proposal, because I am not, if you like, immediately attracted to the idea of degrading services in one area to enhance another.

In that regard, I reflect on the record of the former federal member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, who, as part of what I would regard as an alliance with the former health minister, Jack Snelling, acquiesced in the downgrading of emergency services at the Strathalbyn hospital as part of a redistribution of resources from within that region to upgrade the Mount Barker emergency department services.

The record of the former Labor government was not to put the money in to the services that were needed in the Barossa, Hills and Fleurieu country health district, and in fact, what they proposed to do was shuffle the money around and downgrade services here and there. On the same theme, I have been to a number of meetings in relation to the closure of Kalimna, a very, I regard, treacherous act by the former Labor government. How can you close a nursing home and not tell the staff or the residents until the day you announce it? There was no consultation with staff. So much for a Labor government.

The former member for Mayo, the current Centre Alliance candidate for Mayo, in my view, has a very poor record at standing up for the health services in the Adelaide Hills. I look forward to not only the member for Kavel and the member for Heysen continuing their strong advocacy, I look forward to the election of a Liberal candidate at the next election.

The PRESIDENT: Just one moment, Hon. Mr Hunter. Hon. Mr Pangallo, I should warn you that if you attempt to put so much argument into your short explanation, I will rule it out of order. I gave you considerable latitude today.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: Thank you, Mr President, okay.