Hospital Beds

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:42): Why would opening 10 mental health beds help with flow and overcrowding in emergency departments, but not opening Hampstead wouldn't have the same effect?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:43): The Leader of the Opposition seems to be missing the point about matching the beds with the need. The point that the chief executive of the local health network was making in relation to the Hampstead beds was that the beds available didn't match the current needs of the hospital. One was mental health, the other was subacute. The point I am making in relation to the 10 beds that we are opening at Glenside is that the forensic mental health needs of the people in the ED are assisted by the opening of those forensic mental health beds at Glenside.

My understanding from talking to the forensic psychiatrist and the forensic mental health service is that it will be a flow, and that the capacity of the Glenside site will allow us to, if you like, decant patients in the less acute phase of their illness onto the Glenside site and that will free up capacity at James Nash, which would allow the patients at the mental health unit at Royal Adelaide to transfer to James Nash.