SA Pathology

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (15:16): My question is to the Minister for Health. Do the more than 880 job cuts within SA Health include job cuts in SA Pathology and SA Medical Imaging, or will the privatisation result in further job losses?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:16): In terms of the way forward in terms of SA Pathology, it will undergo an external review to identify opportunities for improvement that provide for appropriate care to be delivered in a sustainable way. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed to undertake the review, commencing in September 2018. It will take approximately six months to examine in detail the public and commercial services provided by SA Pathology.

The steering committee, chaired by the Department for Health and Wellbeing, and involving representatives from local health networks and general practice, will oversee the process, and SA Pathology will engage staff, unions and other stakeholders through the process. What that review finds in terms of ways that SA Pathology can become more efficient, we will need to wait for the completion of that review in what I understand will be about six months.