Legislative Council Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time HIV Services HIV Services The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS Legislative Council HIV Services The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (14:55): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Why won't the government continue the HIV Cheltenham Place service which saves the government twice as much money as it costs through reduced emergency department visits? The Hon. S.G. WADE Legislative Council Minister for Health and Wellbeing HIV Services The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:55): I thank the honourable member for her question. The response to HIV continues but the epidemic has changed and services need to evolve, too. In the early stages of the epidemic the majority of clients of Cheltenham Place were gay men. Now, people living with HIV are a much broader group, including people from high-prevalence religiously conservative countries. Increasingly, a centre-based respite service is less relevant, and I note that a number of other jurisdictions have moved away from such services. I also note that under the former government the Cheltenham Place service was reduced from a seven-day-a-week respite service to a three-day-a-week service. The client group has complex needs, in particular mental health and drug and alcohol issues, and it is the view of SA Health that these issues can more effectively be addressed by specialist mainstream services. SA Health is committed to working with Centacare to ensure that clients are transitioned to appropriate care.